Only Human
by deliccing
Summary: They say that to become a god, you need to turn your imperfections into perfections. He wondered, what is it that made him no better than his brother? What does he need to do to make 'him' look at him? Mostly Izaya-centric. Takes place during Raijin Days at first. Eventual Shizaya? ( pls don't read this. )
1. Prologue

**.Prologue.**

It was night. We were children by the time the events began to out fold. The start of my unfortunate fate after one single mistake. Ever since then, I've always thought that incredulous matters filled the entire world; that I was the only one with these miserable conceptions. Of how one word can affect the entire universe, how one simple statement could easily crush us as if we were pawns.

* * *

That night, the first snow fell although the clock displayed that a new day had begun.

Flakes from the sky continued to fall, most parts of the city were covered in blankets of ice and frost. Streams of lakes and rivers cascaded into their frozen state, the trees had their leaves shed in a favor of having their water stored. Whilst each and every individual indulged themselves into a soothing slumber, tucked into their bed with a smile on their face. Even I was one of them.

I comfortably buried myself within the silken blankets. My lips curled at the warmth surrounding me, for it made me felt safe.

It didn't take long until I heard a noise however, and it appeared to be coming from outside my door. Not bothering to bat an eye open, I instead listened intently to the creaks as I felt the intruder entering. Brows arched in suspicions when I felt the figure drawing closer, and closer, and closer towards me. At this point, I grew alarmed. There was a sudden weight from the corner of my bed, it didn't feel too heavy but rather light. Resembling more of a feather.

Intrigued, I crept an eye open, not expecting any sort of those monsters to be on my bed. For one, I never did believe in them, even as a child. But I did believe in miracles and peaceful endings. As soon as I turned my head, I immediately regretted it. The price? Tackled by the figure, and the weight finally fell onto me. With a muffled shriek, I found the strength to push away whoever that was, even though a certain person passed through my mind as I did that.

"Iza-nii! Iza-nii! Let's play, let's go and play!"

"Psyche, what are _you_ doing here?" Rising from my laid position, I sat properly on the bed. An unamused expression put on as I glared at him, obviously displeased at how the situation had turned. The intruder, though, bounced back into his overjoyed mode. My hand swept up in his as Psyche swung them around playfully, repeating a mantra of 'Let's play!' once again. I sighed in weariness, now comparing my meddlesome brother to a broken recorder.

"I want to sleep. Go back to your room."

With that said, I purposely pushed him so he could fall off the mattress, a small thud heard. Satisfied, I wore a smirk before reaching over for the blanket and yanked it over. But I knew that Psyche isn't one to give up so easily. And as soon as I pulled the sheets up to my head, it was immediately snatched away, the coldness got to me and made me shiver. For one more time, and hopefully the last, I was about to protest but Psyche beat me to it. A question that never failed to ignite the excitement within me. Six words, one simple question.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

I froze, blinking for few times before taking a glance outside the window, it was still snowing. Looking back to my brother, he had a huge grin on his face and in return, I smiled. We both exactly knew what would happen next.

_"... **Yes**."_

"But for god's sake, quiet down before mom catches us."

No more words were needed to be spoken. After wearing our coats and gloves, Psyche and I made a dash for the door downstairs, being as silent as possible while our parents were still sleeping. With a step taken outside the house, we quickly sprang off on our own and into the middle of the night. Exchanging few words and soft laughter at the successful attempt of our escape, not once giving a chance to think of the consequences if we were caught. We never really cared, we did what we wanted, and we always seek for entertainment whenever the other was around.

We eventually arrived at our destination. A frozen lake, unscathed and glistened in beautiful colors that shone under the moonlight; and trees surrounding it in a circle. This was our favorite outdoor place every season. During summer, we'd sit under the trees and share a picnic. During autumn, we would take a walk around the lake's residence. In winter, we have snowball fights, build a snowman or even go skating on the frozen lake. That night, we chose to skate instead.

I left Psyche alone for a while that time, told him to not move as I went to search for our shoes. When I made my way back to the lake, I heard a cry for help; the voice sounded familiar, almost like Psyche that it made my heart race hurriedly. I pleaded for it not to be my brother but luck didn't seem to be on my side.

"_Iza-nii!_" It was definitely him. Releasing the ice skates, I ran for the lake, each step I have taken made a crunched noise as my scattered thoughts went bizarre. Did someone hurt him? Was he captured? What will mom and dad say if they found about this? All I know for sure is that I'll be dead. More dead than a dead man.

Finally reaching the place, I saw Psyche standing on the frozen lake. I sighed in relief, at least no one was bothering him or made any attempts to pull his life away. But I was curious, why was he remaining so still like a frozen statue?

"Psyche? What's wrong?"

He turned his head to look at me, his eyes alone showed fear. After I took the first cautious step into the ice rink, he shook his head. I was confused, uncertain of why was he shaking his head at me. Being a simple-minded child back theb, I ignored it and continued to approach him.

"Iza-nii, don't."

There was a sincere concern in his tone but I didn't listen. After all, I had an intention to help him so, why is he telling me to not to do it?

"Stop!"

I ignored his protest, taking few more steps.

"_STOP!_"

**_Crack!_ **I immediately halted and glanced at the surface below. There was a visible split in the ice, panic began to rose as I staggered backwards, but I only made it more worse. More cracks were made, and I was forced to stay frozen in my spot. Silence fell, none of us were spoke nor move an inch; we were afraid that it'll do the damage worse. I let my eyes wandered over to Psyche, and he too did the same. I could feel his anxiety radiating from here and I knew that we were both panicking.

Much to our dismay, more sounds of crack came to our ears, capturing our attention. But what caught me by surprise was that, the new cracks appeared to be around Psyche, and himself alone. And before we even knew it, he wasn't on the surface anymore. Plunged into the cold fresh water.

_"Psyche!"_

* * *

**Author's note**: Okay, so. Um. To clear up things first;

1) This chapter is basically Izaya telling the story from his view. So, this is more of a flashback. They were children around this time.

2) Take note that this chapter is a prologue! Please excuse my grammar too, English is not my first language. ; u ; Please review?


	2. First Track

**[Track 1]**

Fortunately, the incident took place right around the corner of our house. I suppose that my call for Psyche bargained loads of attention because our parents came to the rescue, it seems they've finally noticed that we were gone. I trembled in fear, mother grabbed me away from the scene but her grip on my arm was harsh. Father, at the meantime, dived into the lake to save Psyche. They managed to bring him out, rushing back to the house to warm him up and call for the ambulance.

The whole time, they ignored me and focused on their youngest son. I was about to enter the room, having enough of the concern chatters and went to ask if Psyche would be all right. When my name was mentioned, I immediately paused. Curiosity got the best of me, and so I peeked through the crack of the door and listened instead. I heard father shouting. He yelled– he yelled that it was my fault. How I didn't help Psyche and stood there like a door.

My breath hitched, a lump caught between my throat when the words struck me like a thunder. I wanted to voice out, to protest how it wasn't my fault. But in the back of my mind, I knew that I was responsible for all of this. Thus, guilt began to rise. Mother defended me, her voice rising as she said that I was only seven and how traumatized I could be. However, their conversation didn't manage to finish. Sirens of an ambulance could be heard outside the house, and I immediately scrambled away from the door as it was pushed open, my father carried Psyche to the exit and mother followed after him. And I went to follow them too.

Cautiously, my father handed Psyche to one of the men, and Psyche was soon placed onto a mattress. Mother climbed into the back of the van, I went to enter too but I was stopped. Obscured by a figure that stood in my way. Knitting my brows in confusion, I trailed my gaze upwards only to be greeted by my father's angered expression. I froze. A familiar sensation of fear crawling through my spines. There was silence between us at first but father was the one who broke it.

'You manipulated him into coming with you, didn't you? All that for your sick entertainment?' Said he. I felt tears stinging in the corner of my eyes as he said, but I held them back, taking all the moments to register what my father had said. I wanted him to stop but he continued, 'I bet you were the one who pushed him. Or maybe, he was convinced by you?'

It wasn't me, I wanted to yell it wasn't me but I kept quiet. My instincts told me to keep quiet.

_'You're not allowed to go and that's the final. Go back to your room, I don't want to see your face again. You, you...'_

'Monster.'

**[End of first track.]**

* * *

.Chapter One.

Izaya woke with a jolt, a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead as he erratically breathed out in few pants. It was that dream again. But it couldn't be a dream if it was bad, right? Although, it wasn't exactly a nightmare either since it had already happened long ago. A memory that haunted him for several years. Lifting a hand, he reached to wipe off the sweat. Sighing, as the brunet glanced over at the clock to read the time.

6:54 AM. Shit, he was late.

_"Izaya, wake up!"_

Loud knocks erupted from the door, tearing away Izaya's gaze from the clock before he immediately got out of the bed. He was well aware of what would happen if he is not on time. "I'm awake!" He practically exclaimed in his fake cheerful tone, trudging over to the closet and quickly grabbed onto his school attire, hastily wearing them on before he made his way to the bathroom.

As soon as he had finished his morning routine, he finally went downstairs. Izaya could hear the scraping of spoons from the kitchen, which told him that his family were having breakfast, starting off without him. Well, not that they usually do start with his presence. Even if Izaya was on time, they wouldn't allow him to eat with them. They often disregarded him, throwing him those looks whenever he wasn't looking but Izaya was smart. He was aware of the things around him. At least, his mother was kind enough to leave some food for him. He always thought that maybe, just maybe. There was hope.

That one day, he would be able to eat with them like he once did, and maybe they would accept him as their beloved family member once again. But reality got to him however, there was no chance of that happening. He couldn't see it happen. It would never happen, it simply never would.

Pushing away his thoughts, he approached for the exit. A hand on the knob as he twisted it, pulling it open before he could make the first step out of his house. What caught him by surprise however, there was a blond by the door. His golden locks fell in disarray, a hand brushed in his pockets while the other was raised to knock on the door before the brunet had already opened it. Izaya felt his heart fluttered immediately at the sight of him, he didn't know why but he unconsciously smiled at the other.

"The hell you smilin' at, flea?"

Instead of a smile returned, it was a scowl. Izaya was reeled back into reality once more, but his smile remained, this time with an intention to hide his vulnerability. Clicking his tongue and releasing the grip on his bag, he leaned on the frame, faking an arrogant smirk like he always did.

"Tsk, must you always be rude, Shizu-chan? I was smiling, what's wrong with that?"  
"I wouldn't be if you weren't a prude. And stop calling me that, damn it!"

Ouch, that hurts. The brunet could feel a scar engraved in his chest, but that was probably his imagination. His heart, now yearned desperately for the blond to see pass through him. To look through him. To see that the he was in pain ever since. However, Izaya being Izaya, he tried to discard the pain; reminding himself that he was used to it. Used to the pain. Used to have people shouting at him. Parting apart his lips, he was about to shoot back a witty comeback but a squeal got to him.

_"Shizu-chan!"_

In a flash, the scene before him changed and Izaya now felt a heavy tug on his heart, as he watched the two together in an embrace. He frowned, only to be replace by one of his fake smile instantly. When they pulled apart, Shizuo was not scowling anymore but rather smiling sincerely, gazing down at the other brunet whom clung onto him. How funny, he mused, pushing himself off the frame to close the door behind them, the pair had already walked away and they were in the lead, Izaya trailing after them. Like a third wheel. Well, not that he isn't.

The whole time they walked to school, Izaya had been intently surveying Shizuo and Psyche. They seemed so perfect; they were exactly opposite yet they were so similar. Both were impatient and feisty, but Psyche was approachable, while Shizuo gave off this dangerous aura. It was also amazing how the two never fought over anything, they acted like a couple. They weren't one, but Izaya knew the moment he looked at them both. They were in love. It was so obvious. After all, Shizuo refused to be called by a pet name from anyone, not even Shinra. when it came to Psyche, it was different, Shizuo didn't mind his younger brother calling him _'Shizu-chan'._ He didn't mind at all.

About few minutes later, they finally arrived at the school gates. The trio parted, Shizuo went with Psyche while Izaya headed into the other direction. Their lockers were located in different sections, which made the brunet felt grateful. He didn't know why, he wanted to see the blond but whenever his brother intervened, he envied them to the depths of his heart. It pained him.

Shaking off his thoughts, he pulled out his schedule from his bag. Chemistry was the first period he had, and a thought came to him in a second. There was a test upheld today. Izaya gave out an irritating sigh as he rushed off to the lockers section. But what he discovered caught him by surprise. By the time he had opened his locker, his books were gone. All of them. Gone. Panic settled in the petite teenager's mind, for he hasn't revised any of the notes given yet.

He needed the notes now. He badly needed them. He needed- wait, no- he has to score a perfect mark for this test. But where could the books have-

"Look, the freak is searching for his books!"

From the corner of his eyes, three male students leaned against the other corners, sneering as if they were satisfied. "What're you going to do for the test now, huh? Going to offer some blowjob to teacher so you could get an A?" One of the jocks mocked. At this point, Izaya only smiled, confidence laced in his tone as he began to speak back.

"That's a good idea, actually."

And that said, he closed the locker with a slam. Walking away as he ignored the glares in which he had received.

* * *

**Author's note:** God, I can't believe that I actually managed to write and update another chapter after I published it. Anyway, the tracks part shall be explained soon. Not in the near future, but definitely soon. Anyway, I'll spoil a little part of the ending here. The pairing in the end would be Izaya/Shizuo. Keep supporting for me to continue, guys! Because believe it or not, I need support to actually have the inspiration.


	3. Second Track

**[Track**** 2]**

Two days have passed since the incident, as I patiently waited for my parents to return. I grew anxious, I felt the urge to rush off to the hospital but I remembered my father's words. I must not leave the house. Thus, I obeyed him out of reluctance and continued to wait until the sun sets, and arise in a new beginning then all over again. The condition around the household seemed lonely than ever, and the once cheerful resonance has succumbed to a complete silence. My breath, being the only thing that I could hear.

We didn't have any maid, therefore no one took care of me that time. I had to look out for myself; I spent most of those days being locked away in my own room- silently weeping over the incident. The memory kept repeating in my head, I felt guilty. Even until now, I guess. Who wouldn't feel guilty if they were in my place? Perhaps I deserved it and the abrupt cold treatment. I should also be grateful at some point. At least, Psyche would not be shun by father.

Father's words came back to me again. It was scary. I never seen so much anger in those eyes, I wasn't used to those eyes. I was usually bathed in affection, the loving looks in which each and everyone had given me. This came to me as a first experience. Although, I was a child with eyes filled of curiosity, I perfectly understood why father got mad. The moment every time we took a step out of our quaint house, Psyche was under my responsibility.

_But alas, I have placed him in great danger._

_**[Track has paused. Please press play to continue.]**_

* * *

.Chapter Two.

Through the halls, wavering steps were made in a frantic pace. The school bell shall start by any minute now; once it rings, it was time for the test to begin, and that meant Izaya wouldn't be able to participate in taking the test. In other words, he will fail if they started off without him. That was how the system in this academy went through, if you're late then my apologies, you won't be taking the test. Unless there were certain reasons for it, of course. But Izaya didn't have any valid reasons. So no- no. Izaya shall not fail. He will not take the risk in failing; he has to be perfect. In order to be perfect, he must get rid of his flaws. Which explains why the brunet is currently dashing for his class.

Although he may seem like he was one born with the natural talent to study, even without any revision; what people did not know was his efforts. Countless amount of time spent on his studies. There was a reason behind it, of course, because when it comes to Izaya, there would always be a reason. Even the impossibilities have their reasons.

Our existence held a reason. Yet the brunet does not know of his meaning here yet. Hopefully, it would eventually be revealed. Maybe not sometime in the near future but he wanted his existence to at least bring a meaningful moral.

Therefore, he has to be perfect. To be perfect, he needs to have those perfect marks.

If it weren't for those neanderthals that dared to toss his books away, he probably wouldn't have to worry about any of this. But they did anyway, and Izaya ended up in the bathroom, with a mobile in his scrutiny hands as he scrolled aimlessly through the screen. Muttering few words now and then, in hopes of having enough time.

Quite satisfied, he shoved his device back into his pocket, which he doesn't have to be concern about as well. Not even for his switchblade. After all, no one did bother to do a check on him because, well- Izaya was very well known in his school. The teacher's pet, the smart guy, and many, many more. Yes, he was that guy; the perfect grades, complexion of golden, and an alluring persona. Everyone thought he was perfect. Everyone, if you didn't include his family, enemies and Heiwajima Shizuo, that is.

_'I'm almost there, I'm almost there, almost...'_

_'- there!'_

The bell rang. At that very moment, Izaya had stumbled effortlessly into the class, capturing the undivided attention as all eyes were set on him. Of course, there were those usual glares, emitting a radiation of jealousy. His professor, however greeted him with a warm smile, his voice booming throughout the room.

"Izaya, right on time! As expected from the perfect student!"

Izaya almost blushed at those words. Almost. That wasn't really the first, but he liked it, whether they were being sarcastic or not; it boosted his self-confidence. Compliments given to him were rare, but that was what made them more precious, right? It doesn't matter if the truth was painful, he was thankful to be surrounded by honest people. Sheepishly, he rubbed at the back of his head, muttering an apology in his common 'everything is fine' tone, "My apologies, sir. I ran into trouble."

"Well, come on in, the test is about to begin and we couldn't afford to lose our time!"

At this, the brunet gave off his usual smirk and wandered off to his table, settling his books under the desk and promptly placed his pencil case onto the surface. All at the meantime, he was ready. Chair was pulled to the front so he could sit up properly, a determined expression worn on his face as the papers were given out before him. He was going to ace this test like he always did.

Not even a thug or the losses of his book could fail him.

* * *

**[Second track has been resumed.]**

The day, that I never thought would come, finally came. Psyche was back. A smile plastered onto his face while he continued to cling onto mother's hand. I was about to welcome them, taking a deep breath before I could reveal myself from the shadows- until father step into the scene, and I was reminded of his words once again. So, I paused. No sound nor a single word came out. Instead, I listened to the merry chatters until it reaches the point when Psyche began to ask regarding my whereabouts.

_'Mom, where's Iza-nii? I want to play with him!'_ I heard him exclaimed. I wanted mother to say 'Yes', and that, it was okay to let him meet me. However, mother didn't respond, which I found it odd. Eventually though, she did answer but it wasn't an answer that I was hoping for.

_'Iza-nii is upstairs. But don't bother him. You shouldn't play with him anymore, Psyche. It's now too dangerous.'_ Of course, I was confused at the last part. I kept on pondering, even till now, what did mother meant by, it's now too dangerous?

_'But why, mother?'_  
_'Because... Psyche. He was the one who put you into the hospital.'_

Ah, I should have known. Should have known that my mother was on my father's side the whole time. I waited as they walked off to the another part of the house, leaving me in silence and register over what happened. I began to chuckle to myself, I didn't know there were tears leaking from my eyes before I pulled myself away from the scene. At this point, I remained standing under the shadows, not bothering to move an inch. I just stood there, allowing the guilt to wash over me. Of course, it was me, it has to be me.

I was the one who hurt him. I had hurt him.

**[End of second track.]**

* * *

Sixth period arrived to an end, and the bell rang once again; signalling it was time for break. Izaya rose to his feet, an urge to get out of the classroom steadily increased and not due to boredom, but rather, the stares were what got to him. The adolescent knew that he should be familiar with it by now, but the attention given to him was quite disturbing. He loved attentions as much as anyone, but not the ones when you could literally feel a dangerous aura seeping out from. Not those kind of attention.

Then again, what do you expect from a boy whom is only seeking for affection? A reminder that he could be loved?

"Hello, Shinra! Dotachin!" The door was pushed open, and Izaya entered the rooftop section for a usual hangout.

Immediately, everyone who was present there turned to him, Shinra being the only one to greet him with a wide smile. "Ah, welcome, Orihara-kun!" That was odd. Probably about Celty again, Izaya mused to himself as he approached the group. Apparently, the ones who were present there was himself, Shinra, Kadota, Shishizaki and much to his dismay, Shizuo. Followed by Psyche. Izaya went to sit by Shishizaki, although his attention lingered on the pair not too far from him.

"- Then he literally screamed when I popped out!"  
"Poor guy."  
"I know! He probably even peed his pants!"

Psyche seemed to be telling Shizuo a joke, and the blond laughed. Strangely however, Izaya didn't focus not only on Shizuo this time, but instead, it was on Psyche. He certainly had grown, with those black locks swaying ever so calmly; and a complexion much more rivalled to his. His eyes, they weren't red but illuminated in magenta shades. Maybe, just maybe.

Maybe this is why Shizuo fell in love with his brother. But of course! Unlike the flea, Psyche was more understanding, and he displayed sincere affection to those in need. It was ironic however, how he doesn't seem to notice Izaya was there.

It was as if, he had been invisible all the time. Heck, Shizuo didn't even say anything since he came in. Wasn't that unusual?

Izaya smiled however, but a forcibly tugged one. One that was made out of sadness. He couldn't blame Psyche, he couldn't blame him for what he has done. If he wishes to treat Izaya like an open air, then let him be. He would do anything for his brother. Yet- there was a problem. A thought crept in, whilst Izaya continued to witness Shizuo and Psyche being on friendly terms. His fist clenched, brows slightly furrowed when a strange emotion crawled after his thought. He wasn't going to give Shizuo up. Not yet.

Little did the child of misfortune know however, there was a man who had been watching him intently.

A man who only noted his observations as he remained quiet.

_Oh, Izaya._

_You really do care about them, don't you?_

* * *

**Author's note:** Yay, so here's the third chapter. The grammar sucks, I know, I was quite in a hurry. I immediately wrote this after school and I have school again tomorrow. Anyway, please enjoy! Oh, and thank you for the reviews! They really did motivate into writing more further. 3 Please do review.

Also:

_**Shishizaki** _was mentioned in the novel before, therefore he should be counted as a canon character. It was said that he had attended Raira Academy with Shizuo, Shinra and Izaya. Although, I'm not sure about Kadota. In this story, he is blond. And you all might want to remember him because he plays an important part.


	4. Third Track

**[Track 3]**

Ever since Psyche came back that day, father once again advised me to distance myself from him. I knew the reason to why, therefore I obliged to his wish. From time to time, I kept myself locked up in my room and never bothered to go outside. I no longer ate with my family, yet mother was kind enough to leave me some dishes. At times, I would sneak out, of course; to help myself with some food but there were those moments when I had to be cautious. The reason itself was very simple.

One day, as I sat by the window; my mind became too indulged with the novel that rested on my lap. I was smart for my age, my aunt told me that once before, and I had no problem in reading through it at all. Well, except for a definition for those fancy words back then. The plot consists of a boy whose life was filled of tragic events, his search through an adventure for an endless hope. Now that I think about it, he did remind me of myself. But there was something different about the boy. Somthing that I have truly admired. Unlike the flea like me, he stayed true to himself, never faking a smile as he strolled through the stormy clouds. Independent; never did the boy expect the others to make the first move.

A knock from the door however intruded my reading, thus snatching away my attention as I lifted an eyebrow in pure annoyance. After all, who wouldn't find it irritating to have disturbance?

'Who's there?' I called out, a sigh escaped from my lips before I'd settle the book down.

'Iza-nii? That's you, right?'

I froze, holding my breath as soon as I heard the familiar soft voice outside the door. My heart began to pound furiously, tuning out the now muffled chatters while the incident came back to me. Haunting my mind once again. Psyche. What was he doing there? I stayed silent, not responding to any of my younger brother's calls. There was another knock from the door, resonating throughout the whole room. Yet I did not move an inch, only remained in my glued place, listening to my rhythmic harsh breath.

'... Iza-nii? I know you're in there. Come on, mom and dad's not here.'

'Can't we play for just a while?'

I knew he was trying to stir up a conversation with me. I knew he was trying to make up to me at some point. But why? Does he feel guilty for what had happened? But no, no. That was unacceptable. Psyche wasn't supposed to feel guilty. He wasn't even supposed to talk to me. I've hurt him- He was supposed to be mad at me. I was utterly confused. I was at the fault for this, so why does he want to be with me again? I'll... I'll only make things worse.

Then another thought struck me, another reason to why I should not let Psyche in. If father happens to come home and found us in the same room, we would both be in trouble. At least, that was what I thought.

So, I said three things to make sure Psyche would leave me. Alone. Even by the means that I would end up hurting him in the end.

'Go away, Psyche.' And so I thought to my self.

That should be enough.

**[End of third track.]**

* * *

**.Chapter Three.**

A pen tapped against the desk repeatedly, russet eyes gazed out into the sky as they would flicker to each corner once in a while. Halting on his vent of impatience, Izaya turned for a glance at the clock, in hopes for the school to be over. Honestly, he wanted to be at elsewhere. Not in the same room, breathing with those animistic barbarians.

12:21 PM, it read. Four minutes till the bell rings.

Infuriated, the brunet deciphered to take a lean in opposition to his chair. The noise came as an annoyance to him as he surveyed his environment. The scene was a big pile of mess. The teacher for commerce was absent, and the others were not able to take over the class. Thus, explaining why the class was in the state of havoc. It fascinated him however, as he managed to capture few rumors here and there. Such an expedition, he chuckled to himself, thinking how silly humans are nowadays. Rumors are rumors. No matter what you do, they could come as a great offense or an impression to most.

Take Izaya for an example. Or that one smart kid who keeps getting high grades. Who knew that his full marks on every test could bring envy? Or even, hatred?

Maybe, just maybe. He mused, watching the clock ticking and neared to the supposed time. But what if he doesn't get perfect marks? Would that make people like him more? Maybe. But then again, Izaya wasn't going to take the risk in that. Remember, Izaya. This was all for Psyche.

The bell finally rang, but Izaya was already out of the door, his bag slang across his shoulder.

All for Psyche.

By the time he made a turn for his locker, Izaya immediately paused on his tracks. There, Shishizaki had rested his back against Izaya's locker, both arms crossed, followed by a worn face void of any emotions. From the looks of it, the blond appeared to be waiting for him to arrive. This certainly did intrigued the soon to be informant; it was rare to have Shishizaki trying to meet up with him. After all, the elder was a senior, and he would be graduating from Raira by this year. The first few months Izaya came here, he was one of the few people that managed to gain his interest. Least to say, Izaya grew fond but quite disturbed by the said individual's presence. As time flew by, and within the first year, the senior completely differed from the others.

Shrugging off his thoughts, the adolescent went to skid over, a grin plastered on as always before he chirped.

"Ah, Shishizaki-senpai! What are you doing here, ne? Have you been waiting for me? Ara, that's so rare—"

"Fuck off with the act, Izaya."

At this, Izaya flinched but only for a split second. That was unexpected. But how did he- Well, he knew what the other meant, but how did he see through him? Nonetheless, Izaya smiled. It was too early to let his guard down. However that didn't mean his mind did not slipped into panic mode, and this was one of the reasons why he had taken a partially great dislike in Shishizaki. The senior was capable of seeing through him; like a glass made out of crystal. It scared him, almost like how his father scared him long time ago.

"Act? I'm afraid that I do not know what you are talking about, my dearest senpai."

Instead of a comeback, the man only sighed out of exhaustion. By then, he brushed himself off against the cabinet, taking one step at a time to reach for Izaya. "Don't take me for a fool, Izaya," the words came out in a strangely calm yet threatening tone. It scared Izaya, and that was not common at all. So, why should he be afraid of someone else, when he isn't afraid of Shizuo? Shizuo and Shishizaki were alike on many ways. Both did not oblige to any of Izaya's predictions. Both of them were even blonds! Unlike the fortissimo of Ikebukuro though, never once did the other fell for Izaya's trap.

This should perfectly explain why the elder one only gave one of those looks in a response. Oh, you know, the ones that are 'Getting-real-tired-of-your-bullshit' faces.

Izaya squinted any eye at this point, only then would he take a glimpse around their surrounding. There were very few presences in the locker room, busily doing their own stuff as they'd rush out of the building school. The raven wanted to go as well, as Psyche could be waiting for him at anytime but in this case, Shishizaki already had him cornered. This vaguely meant there was no escape. For the millionth time of today, another sigh left the younger one's lips, and no movements were made for several moments. They patiently waited till no soul but theirs remained. Eventually, there was a faint nod finally given, a signal for the other to continue. "What do you want?"

"I want the truth."

"Right. A truth. And your question?"

"What do you feel towards Shizuo?"

The question caught him off guard. This wasn't the question Izaya had been expecting. He had predicted that Shishizaki would ask him the typical 'What are you planning?' inquiry. Then again, this man too was unpredictable. Although, he could not understand; out of all questions, did the senior have to ask that?

Lie, he should lie. It was too early to let his guard down. Therefore, he should lie. He has to, as the corners of his lips tugged upwards, "I'm sorry, but I don't get what you mean."

"I'm not dumb like Shizuo, Izaya. You've been staring at them during break today." Of course, with the senior's presence, it seemed as if nothing could ever work out. But damn it, must he be observant that time as well? The raven knew that there wasn't any escape to this. Even if he tried, Shishizaki will catch up to him in no time; there isn't any doubt. Least to say, he was the only one who could outrun the Izaya Orihara, with an ability to thwart his plans. Perhaps that should be expected from a heir of a rich family.

After all, there was a reason to why Shishizaki caught his interest. He possesed the raw strength of Heiwajima Shizuo and an intelligence compatible to Izaya's. The raven could not help but muster a giggle at this though. He wondered, if he and Shizuo had a child, would he be exactly like Shishizaki? That would be a coincidence. Maybe Shishizaki was indeed their child but from the future. Not to mention, the senior was also capable of stopping their cat-and-dog fights.

Out of nowhere, Izaya began to chuckle. Soon, bursting out into roars of laughter.

"Oh, senpai! You're really are funny! But ne, ne, you shouldn't look deep into things especially when they're small matters! For your question, Isn't obvious?! I hate Shizu-chan! Who knows that he would suddenly throw a tantrum at my brother? Of course, I have to look out for him and protect him from Shizu-chan!"

"That's the biggest bullshit I ever heard."

At this, Shishizaki took a step forward, immediately triggering the younger one's alarm. Out of instinct, Izaya had his hands brushed into his pockets; one of his palms held a tight grip onto it. He kept a stern gaze on the approaching figure, quite confused over the sudden situation. But never mind that.

It was still too early to let his guard down.

"You say you hate him but your eyes stated otherwise."

His grip on the blade tightened, irritation could be seen on his face as a scowl crept in. Since when did the other cared? In fact, why did he even bother? Izaya didn't know. He was clueless. He can't read the other's mind as easily as the rest of his humans. Psychology happened to be his favorite subject, and he always get the perfect scores along with the bonus marks. The mind of a human body, their emotions, it was all too easy since Izaya could see through them. So, why? Shishizaki was also a human. So, what made him different? What considered him humane when he was so similar to both he and Shizuo?

His eyes narrowed dangerously, almost letting out a growl when he noticed Shishizaki taking another step, "What's your point?"

But the other did not oblige to his question. "I don't get why are you hiding all of this. Are you sure you're keeping a look out for your brother?"

"Stop."

"Are you sure you don't feel envy towards any one of them? Do you..." And another step.

"Stop." Why can't people leave him alone?

"— Do you really hate Shizuo?"

"I said, stop."

In a second, the blade had been pulled out. Its tip pointing directly to the senior's face in an indication of a threat. Acquiescence fell upon them, and by now, the two were the only remnants in the section. Those that managed to witness Izaya's outburst already went to scurry off, not wanting to be involved nor dragged into their fight. It's a good thing that Izaya knew who were those witnesses— so if they ever get the idea trying to sold him out to teacher, or else he'll make sure they're regret it. They'd absolutely regret it.

As time passed by, both continued their game of staring contest, basking themselves under the pressure of the argument. No one dared to speak, or even move. They merely stood there, attempting to look past their soul and deep into it as if they were searching for the key, that could solve the entire problems. It wasn't until later when Izaya reluctantly pulled back the blade. Remaining his gaze on the tall figure as he shoved the object into his pocket.

Finally regaining his composure, Izaya sighed. Only to wear a smile once again. "... Don't think too much, Shishizaki-senpai. And this never happened."

A moment later, the brunet headed for the exit, leisurely walking past the blond. He needed to get out of there now. All he wants is to be back at home and bear all the pain to himself. After several years of putting up a barrier, no one shall get through it. Not even Shizuo.

"Izaya."

He stopped for a moment, his head hung low with limbs effortlessly dangled around.

"We both know that this is my last and your first year here. And I thought I should let you know."

"I could tell who are the broken people. By seeing them, I could easily tell who they are. They may have thousands of barriers to protect the inner walls. Whenever you and Shizuo fought, I took in the observations. Your actions weren't out of hatred, I know. I could see the reluctance in them. You are alarmed, sensitive to your surroundings, and you do not bode well with your emotions. You may have the perfection but there is one thing you've been disregarding; your eyes. They show sadness. Why is that, Izaya?"

— — "Why are you so sad?"

Silence was the only thing that answered the senior's question. Izaya did not respond yet, for he had already walked away. Leaving Shishizaki to be the only one left in the building. The building drenched under an atmosphere that could make one feel lonelier than ever before.

* * *

**Author's note:** I'm sorry that I didn't get to update the story yesterday! So I made it extra longer. I hope you guys won't be confused. So, now you found that in this story, Izaya is still in his first year at school. You betcha, this is going to be one long story. And I like to take things slow, thank you-


	5. Fourth Track

**[Track 4]**

Few months went by, yet Psyche continued to pester me. Everyday, I could hear him– sitting outside my door, waiting for a miracle that could never happen. He often brought breakfast for me, but I did not accept. Sometimes, he pleaded me to help on his homework. I continued to shut him, out of my own will. Not once had I taken a single step outside the room since that day. Although I felt hungry, I constantly lost my appetite, due to the sickening sentiment dwelt in my stomach. The guilt that remained did not help any further. All I wanted is Psyche to leave me alone, that wasn't so hard, was it? I couldn't see why he wanted to see me again. I could see why he would want to be with me. Now that I think about it, I probably would have done the same thing. Because that person didn't do anything wrong at all.

Thankfully, there were times when Psyche had to leave for school, giving me several moments to relish in peacefulness. Though, mother occasionally would come to my room. This went on since the beginning of the year. She brought me a tray of some food, and stayed to chat with me for a while. I felt happy. I felt extremely grateful– that mother remained to harbor her love for me. That time, I could only think of it as the only thing that kept my sanity. _Her love for her own son_. One day, I asked her; Mother. Why does father not like me anymore? Is it because I am a monster?

My eyes, they stung. Tears were in the corner of my eyes. I wondered, even till now, does he think I am a beast? His words, they were hurtful. The scene of father threatening me in a scary tone haunted me. That was the last time since we've talked. Finally, my tears fell. Tears of sadness and guilt. However, mother swept my tears away, as she tried to soothe me with her hushes. And she said– she said that father does love me. He loves both Psyche and I very much. But because one of his children almost died, he was traumatized. She told me I needed to give him more time. Few more days– or even weeks for him to forget the incident. But then, I asked her another question.

_Mother. Do you think it's my fault?_

My tone was shaky, I was afraid of her answer. What she told Psyche that day, it was all I could think of. I wanted- wait, no. I needed her to believe me. But mother did not say anything. She only pulled me in for a hug, her grip around me tightening by each second. Like she was afraid to lose me. This action alone answered my question. And so, I closed my eyes. Surprisingly, I didn't think about anything else that time, the unanswered question went unnoticed. The only thing that mattered to me was my mother. My mother; the one who gave life to me. The one who supported for me. The one who had defended for me.

The one who stayed there for me.

**[End of fourth track.]**

* * *

. Chapter Four .

After the heated encounter, Izaya had chosen the long track that led back home. For the reasons of; one, he felt the need to vent off his anger for few minutes; and two, as much as how he wanted to return home, he didn't mean that definition in home. **Home, **as in the people that takes care of you and cherishes you for who you are. They are the people that would be willing to accept you, never hesitating to show their affection nor how much they do care about you. And so, Izaya tried to recall the sensation; that warm sensation you receive when you return safely, arrived within the open arms of your family.

Now that was the part he had trouble with. Family. As much as how it displeases Izaya to admit, he didn't have any idea whether to consider them as his family. But. Family, home; weren't they the same thing? How about friends?

A kick was delivered to the piles of leaves obscuring his path, as Izaya continued to stride across the cemented pavement. Lifting his chin, his eyes wandered to the clouds. The view in the sky was rather breathtaking, if not for the fact that the sun had to gleam brighter than before. In some way, it did irritate the brunet. The rays were too bright, too bright that it could damage the human eyes. Once again, he stooped his gaze onto the ground, hands remained in his pockets as he began to fiddle with the blade in one of them.

Now, what should he do?

He halted on his journey for a moment. Allowing the thoughts to come to him, but most of them were related to the blond. No, not the Heiwajima. The other blond. The one that made an attempt to seek past Izaya's walls, and accomplished the mission successfully. However, he didn't quite get the idea. Shishizaki was a man who possessed intentions in every single thing he does. So, what did Shishizaki try to say? But most of all, why did it matter to him? Why did he bother with Izaya's emotions? Towards his supposed enemy?

The words came back to him once again, haunting his mind from all corners.

_"Your eyes. They show sadness. Why is that, Izaya?" _

_"Why are you so sad?"_

Did his eyes clearly shown his every single emotion?

Izaya didn't know whether he should be grateful or not. The senior had always been one to observe, that was the fact. Although, Izaya never did regard his own behavior would be taken into account. Could it be that Shishizaki does care for him? No, that wasn't possible. That doesn't even sound possible. If Shishizaki could tell how Izaya felt towards the fortissimo of Ikebukuro, then he would have not blatantly confront as simple as that. Instead, he might have done anything to haul the raven's attention away from the beast. So, if that's the case. Then what could the reason be?

Too much questions. There were too much questions needed to be solved. Thus, Izaya sighed in an exasperation, clearly frustrated at himself due to the state of his condition. Taking in a deep scent of the atmosphere, he resumed his way back home. In hopes of nothing worse, but a good thing would happen.

Oh, but who was he kidding? He shouldn't be acting like this! Not at all. He was the **Orihara Izaya**. Orihara Izaya does not weep. Orihara Izaya does not let his guard down. Orihara Izaya, one that claims to love the entirety of human race and shower them under his affection. In truth is, he wanted the world to know his pain. Indeed, the mask or rather a barrier he had put up became a part of him, a part of his daily life. The thought of loving his humans only came to him that one night. The night where every thing changed.

.

_Click!_

The door behind him closed with a lock, a lingering hand palmed against the wooden frame. Izaya stayed that way, but only for a short while. Soon, he turned to climb his way upstairs, making for a beeline towards his room. There were sounds of channels flicking from the living room, accompanied by few mutters and a laughter. It came to him as a hindrance at first, and thankfully, he managed to tune out the merry resonance. He knew what his family were doing, they were spending a quality time together, by watching a show or even a favorite movie of his.

Unknowingly, he already had a tear leaked from one of his eyes. It went unnoticed to him, because as soon as he had entered his room and slammed it with a shut– a sudden pair of arms embraced him from behind.

It definitely did come to him as a surprise, as a gasp emitted from him. However, Izaya possessed a divine reflex, all thanks to his practice at being a parkor master. Instantly, he tore himself from the grip by holding onto the wrists, unceremoniously swerved underneath the limbs and out of the trap, somehow slightly twisted the culprit's arms to prevent him from moving away. Although, whom he saw was not expected; in fact, it made all the reminders from the past rush to him in one go.

"Psyche?" His tone was cracked, and he immediately released the other, taking few steps back with widened eyes.

On the other hand, Psyche was busy mourning. A grunt escaped when the other tried to soothe his arms, a pained expression worn. That didn't last for long, the adolescent had already replaced the sorrowful visage with a cheerful one. "Long time no see, Izaya." No more casualties, only the first initial was used. It made Izaya cringed, face distorted at the unfamiliar name. After all, he was used to being called as big brother. At the meantime, he couldn't believe it was actually happening. He couldn't believe his younger brother is right there, right in front of him and pretended like nothing happened between them. But why? Why was he here? Or was this a mere hallucination? If so, could it be he finally went mad?

"I know. It's hard to believe, isn't it? It's been long since we talk, while you constantly shut me out."

_Wait. _How did he? Izaya shrugged off the thoughts, lips formed a perfectly firm line. Despite the fact that his circulation went vivid, mostly due to an unexpected meeting, his face remained void of emotion. Now is not the time to mess around. No sooner than later, he began to speak, "Psyche. How did you get into my room?"

"You've been shutting me out a lot, Iza-nii. I came here to seek for your answer, I want to know why you've been shutting me out."  
"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

The brunet's grin stooped to one of a frown, a little hurt at the tone used by Izaya. This was noted by the elder one, whom maintained a mask filled of emptiness, filled of such uncaring countenance. Silence fell, both of them engaged in a heated gaze, none of them dared to break the eye contact nor the heavy ice that hung upon them. They hovered there, allowing their souls to pitifully scream at each other after a long time absence of their reunion.

— "Why?"

Psyche appeared to perk his ears up at the sudden question, orbs illuminated in a shade of fear as soon as he realized the question was directed to him. "Why do you keep coming back? No matter how many times I discarded you. Why do you still come back? Didn't mom warned you?" The eldest had questioned him continuously in a monotone. Therefore, it was given off more like a threat. Like some sort of warning given if Psyche comes to bother him again. But that didn't matter now, Izaya needed the adolescent out of his sight. He has to be out of his sight before his parents knew he was here to begin with. "Didn't dad tell you that I'm a monster?"

Once again, silence served as the answers to his questions. Of course, the younger one often tried to reply, yet his voice caught hang up most of the time, only the first vowels or syllables were made. So, there wasn't any valid reason as it seems. Izaya allowed the guilt to wash over him again, a loud sigh purposefuly being set free from its confinement as he closed his eyes. He needed to do this. He has to.

"**Get out."**  
"A-ah?"

"Get out." Lids were unfold, revealing russet orbs obscured by a tinge of anger that flashed. No, it isn't supposedly to be directed at the younger brunet but frustration was gradually settling in. By the time Izaya caught a glimpse of dejected on Psyche's face, he felt distressed. But what must be done has to be done, right? He knew the other could be traumatized for now, and so, Izaya did one thing. Force.

He made a grip for the other's arm, forcibly pulling at him away as he reached for the door. The other did not make any moves to escape his grip, which made things a whole lot easier. Turning on the handle, he discharged the exit from its fastened position, hauling the other brunet forwards before releasing his grip. It was viewed as an accidental move, due to the fact that as soon as he released the grip, Psyche went tumbling down onto the ground, landing on all his fours.

For now, he would not care, there is always another time to weep about it. So Izaya said four or five things, a statement that he never dared to use when he was a kid. "Don't come back _ever _again."

_SLAM!_

The slam echoed throughout the room. Although, to Izaya, it was repeatedly heard over and over. As if a sentimental part of him had shattered. He lurched forward, exerting a pressure from his forehead onto the door as it made a small thud. His breath ragged, and his heart raced hurriedly than before. Sick, he felt so sick. The loud thumps of his heartbeat in his head . Changing his course, Izaya leaned his back against the frame, sliding down to the cold tiles with a hand placed over his heart– as he tried to calm himself down.

.

That night, he laid on his bed, eyes stained on the ceiling before him. The ceiling was a bit too childish, with few stickers glued and glow in the night. But he never did think of removing them. Although his room may be in need of customization, despite of its neat organization. Perhaps he should try and apply himself for a work. But for now, he needed a rest. After a long day and the events that happened today, his barriers were almost knocked over. He needed to be careful more next time.

That night, he began to hum to himself. Collecting the fragrance of a lullaby from the past, as he murmured its melody.

And as he continued to hum, his eyes gave away slowly, slowly succumbing to darkness. The stars being the last thing he's seen before he finally slept.

* * *

_Sleep my child, _  
_and peace attend thee._  
_All through the night;_  
_Guardian angels God will lend thee,_  
_All through the night._  
_Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,_  
_Hill and vale in slumber steeping,_  
_I, my loving vigil keeping,_

**All through the night.**

* * *

**Author's note**: Tried to keep this longer than before. But I failed. orz A little shout-out for crimsonfire3 since her constant reviews were one of those that kept me going. Thank you, dear!

For a little note, the first few chapters will be re-written soon. Plot stays the same however. And be prepared, everyone! There will be eventual twists around the corner. Not in the near future, but do prepare yourselves. c;


	6. Fifth Track

**Oh, I forgot to mention. Izaya decided to take a break from school since the beginning of that year. It was supposed to be mentioned in the previous chapter but I forgot, derp. His break would last only for about three months. Which means his school resumes in April.**

* * *

**[Track 5]**

I remembered that day. It was the day when Psyche and I turned eight together. That night, our parents decided to have a celebration at our house, and Psyche had been told to bring his friends. My presence wasn't much welcomed, at least, that's what I thought until I was invited by my mother. I hesitated at first. I didn't know whether I should go or not but in the end, I convinced her I didn't want to go. I didn't want to go. Yes. It's an incredibly incredulous notion, I know. You've probably thought that somewhere deep inside my heart, beneath the blue ocean– I longed to go, didn't you?

Guess what? You're on the right track, buddy! Although I did have a feeling that father wouldn't want me there. That could be enlisted as another reason why I didn't want to go. Remember when mother told me to give him more time? Few more weeks passed, yet father still couldn't get over the incident. Which mother thought it was ridiculous, and I agreed with her at one point. Then again, I could see the reason why. After all, whose caring parents lets their children go near someone who nearly killed them? Let alone that person is one of their children as well?

Well, I wouldn't say I nearly killed him.

Why would I want to kill him?

I bet Psyche did that to himself.

... Okay. These bad thoughts are settling in quicker than I thought. Envy, I suppose.

There were times I wished to be like him. Psyche was cherished for all his life, he was often the one who got the most attention from our parents– or should I say, father? Father was proud of him. At some point. Psyche wasn't exactly a bright student, but his enthusiasm makes up for it. No matter where he goes, the bubbly, happy, out-going persona of his radiated like the golden rays of sun, affecting the moods of everyone around him. It could even easily turn the sour state of mind to a 180 degree. In other words, he's viewed as the light to every darkness.

When I kicked him out of my room at our second encounter, I couldn't help but wonder. Did he feel sad? Sympathetic? What happened back then? Honestly, I felt curious but I didn't want to know. Well, back to the story. It started when I crept out of my room... Actually, I'm not really in the mood to tell you about the whole story so eh, if anyone happens to listen to this. You can always ask Psyche. He was there. Then again, no one's probably listening to this._ [chuckles] _Of course, it had to be expected.

... It just... had to be expected.

**[End of fifth track.]**

* * *

**.Chapter Five.**

The following day didn't turn out well for our young protagonist, even the next few days after that. Since the catastrophic incident in his room back then, Izaya didn't have the guts to face his family; for he feared they'd gaze down upon him. Not that they haven't yet– he merely didn't want to make it worse than the treatment he's already gotten. Every now and then, he would often leave for school in advance by departing from the house, as the sun had only begin to rise from its peak at the horizon. Once school ended, he would then linger in the outdoors and refrain his self from returning back home early.

Today wasn't any different. After roaming through his daily checklist, Izaya left with the door clicked shut and silently made his way down to school. The sun has yet to emerge, but the once dark sky painted of a lighter shade and that held no other meaning than the sun's approach. A sigh escaped from parted carmine lips, glazed russet orbs veiled by closed lids as the brunet took his time at a leisure pace. What to do to kill time? He knew the school gates wouldn't be open at this time. The thought of waiting for them to be open deemed to be excruciatingly boring for his own taste. And so, he decided to head towards one particular destination.

That destination happened to be a park. Oh, it wasn't any park. It was the park where he and Psyche used to play together. Smiling sadly, Izaya approached one of the swings. Taking a grip on the cords, he seated himself on the plank, a gentle breeze of cold air struck against his face no sooner than later. Only then as Izaya took in a deep breath, he became conscious of his damped cheeks. Damped cheeks? But why? He brought up a hand, having one or two caresses only to swipe away moisten remnants, and came to his senses that he had been crying.

How funny, he chuckled to himself. How does one even cry without any recognition? Uncanny as it seems, no one said it was impossible.

Izaya leaned his head against the metal ropes, the tears kept leaking no matter how many times he tried to stop. The process went on till he finally gave up, and since there was no one else in the park; at least not at this time, he didn't have to be concern about it. With a weak kick off the ground, he began to swing by himself. Keeping in mind that he, Izaya, was a mere one man army whose opponent turned out to be the world itself. A battle between him against the world. That does sound thrilling, doesn't it?

"In the end, I'll win anyway," Eyes closed and all movements were halted momentarily. "I win, they lose. And humans can't beat gods. They can never win against them. That's how it always goes. Each person shall tremble in fear before them. Only monsters were brave enough to face them. Therefore... Therefore, I'm a god... Then, that would mean Shizu-chan is a monster.."

A dry chuckle tormented through the empty playground. Fortunately, there weren't anyone. Izaya knew he could end up in an asylum if he kept talking garbage but who is one to talk when he had always received perfect grades? The student who always got the 1st place in every competition he had participated? The student who has met every expectations of every teachers and parents? The young man continued to laugh, twirling his self around on the swing. "Right?"

"Right."

**.**

Izaya remained standing in front of the school gates, contemplating whether or not should he enter. He didn't want to face few certain people, especially that stupid brute whom he happened to fall in love with. But Izaya wasn't one to admit things so openly. For several years, his opinion on love distorted; and to love, quoted the teenager himself, they have to share their equal pain together. The pain of having to suffer the other's experience. And as one who claimed to love humans; is that the reason to why he made them go through several tests? Could that be why he never stop taunting the fortissimo of Ikebukuro?

The adolescent had only found it quite fascinating at witnessing how long his humans could hold onto themselves. Their various expressions shown through a crack in their mask.

They were way below him, he reminded himself, taking one reluctant step through the gates. They couldn't even put up one of a good fight. Heck, their logic was so simple-minded as their brains. Excluding Shishizaki, that barbaric senior of his. Izaya couldn't help but wished they were dead, all those who made him suffer- maybe then, his plans wouldn't be thwarted. Maybe then, he wouldn't even have to suffer. Until then, Izaya continued avoiding them like a plague.

He couldn't help but be anxious. 'Did Psyche tell them?' These words continuously rang in his mind as Izaya roamed through the school. Honestly, he'd be in deep trouble if Psyche told them. But he won't be surprised if Shizuo or anyone else is pissed, currently stomping their way to school to find him and end his very life. Oh well, at least tomorrow was Saturday, the last day of school for the week. The chemistry tests results will be out by tomorrow. Hopefully, he'll be alive to receive the results by then.

"I—zaya-kun!"

'Well, if it isn't the hopeless, idiotic Shinra.' Izaya mused, watching as Shinra waved at him frantically from the corner of his eyes. It's been long since they've talked. Mostly due to either Izaya had been ignoring him, or whenever Psyche was around. Although the second option seems more like it. Izaya rarely turned Shinra away from him, but that didn't mean the same thing when it goes around. You see, Shinra liked to talk to Psyche since middle school. He even treated him like his own child and supported for him when the pink-eyed raven entered a singing competition last time. He won the 1st place in the end, just as expected and everyone grew proud of him. Another kind of thing Izaya didn't have.

"Ah, Shinra. Did something happen?"

"I heard."

"Hm? Heard of what, Shinra?" Izaya jerked his head upwards, immediately glancing over to Shinra beside him. At first, his face showed astonishment only to be then replaced by his holier-than-thou smile. It may be too late since his mask had already slipped for a short moment.

"Between Psyche and you." Shinra crossed his arms, "He only told us yesterday. And Shizuo was- wait, no- Shizuo is mad. He said he's going to look for you tomorrow since Psyche only told us after school." His words held no playful tone but a stern one as he spoke the finishing touches. "Oh." Simply said Izaya, shrugging his shoulders. If a broken heart could be heard, then the whole world would hear a sound of a huge earthquake crack. Instead, it was chosen to be concealed. Secrets were meant to be concealed therefore, it was natural to let them have no profound knowledge.

"What's it to you? Going to defend Psyche instead of me now, I see?"

"W-what? Well, according to Psyche, he didn't do anything! But he did say that you were the one who threw him outside.." Shinra muttered the last part distinctively, unsure how he would face the proceeding situations. Izaya, on the other hand, was not amused. But it was the truth. He was the one who threw him outside so why was he mad? Don't take it wrong. He wasn't mad at Psyche. He wasn't mad at Shinra. He was mad at himself. He had every reason to.

Nevertheless, it remained quite a mystery, at least to Shinra. Though he was used to seeing Izaya smiling a lot but today, and right at this very moment, it didn't seem like Izaya was actually smiling. There was an aura seeping from him. Also, note taken; a smiling Izaya can be a dangerous Izaya. Enough said. The smile did not waver even as both students walked their way to class together, and it was beginning to creep him out. Biology was their first period, and Shinra could only hope Izaya would not show his nasty side soon. Because, well. One thing for sure, it was certainly not a pleasant experience.

Entering their room, they seated themselves next to each other. Izaya casually leaning back on his chair as Shinra began to chat away.

"I got 99% on Biology yesterday! Can you believe it? I really did improve!"

"Of course. Doctors _are _supposed to improve."

"How about you? How much you got?"

"Don't even give me that look, Shinra. And no, I didn't get lower than you. I got 100. Another perfect score~"

"... Did you have to shove that in my face. Wow. I hate you."

"I love you too, my dear human."

**.**

During break, the crimson-eyed teenager didn't turn up at the rooftop for lunch nor anywhere else. Izaya thought it'd be best to stay away from them now. Shizuo was mad. Izaya knew because there was a loud, sudden piercing cry of battle that rumbled through the school. A cry that was calling out his name. In the end, he successfully managed to avoid the enraged blond and stay put out of his sight. Adrenaline pumped through his veins when he noticed that Shizuo would not be giving up soon.

The stupid brute continued to search for him literally everywhere and through the day. Literally. Because as Izaya climbed down the stairs for his next class, he halted; capturing the sight of Shizuo picking up the top lid of a trashbin and look inside, calling out for him once again. Right there, he almost blew his cover by laughing at his idiocy. Seriously, who in the right mind would even hide in a place filled of trash? The sound of his laughter came to the ears of the fake blond but it was already too late. Izaya had already fled away, using the other stairs to arrive at his next class. Through the day because Shizuo had barged into almost every room, no matter if the class had lessons ongoing or not.

Few hours came by. Maths was the last period for Izaya today.

And so far, no Shizuo.

Which was good.

The teacher continued explaining about the trigonometrical section on their revision papers. Izaya focused his attention on the papers before him before shrugging, knowing that he did not need to worry about this. It was only revision for next week's test, and that said, the paper settled on the table wasn't as complicated as it seemed. Quite like a piece of cake. Coming from the perfect student, himself. He decided to tune out, his state of mind almost slipped away into his imaginary world.

The world where everything was perfect. Where he has his loving family and friends, and a perfect lover with blooming memories to hold on. The world where everyone has taken a liking to him. The world where he is understood perfectly.

Only then, the bell decided to ring. The teacher bundled up her books, bidding the class with a goodbye before leaving the classroom. Finally, it was time to go home! Everyone was in glee! Actually, scratch that out. All except for our crimson-eyed raven were happy. Chairs screeched as they were pushed underneath their desk, the students rolling out of the room one by one. Disheartened, Izaya promptly shoved his case into the bag and sling it over his shoulders.

He cringed, quite thankful that Shizuo didn't get the chance to find him. Or else, they'll spring off into another cat-and-dog chase of theirs which Izaya surprisingly didn't find a mood for it. Looking at the clock, he read as it displayed **12:28pm**. There's still more time. But what to do kill time? There is no way would he venture into a park. Then a thought struck him. He should probably come out of his shell and let Shizuo chase him through the town. Yeah, he'll do just that. Maybe then, he thought to himself, he'll be able to tell Shizuo about everything. And his feelings.

Then again, the blond was a hardhead. Izaya doubted he would believe in anything he had said. Shaking his head, he allowed a sincere smirk grace his features. A sudden idea that came into his mind. It's risky, but worth it.

_Time for the cat to get back in the chase._

But s soon as he exited from his room, there was a sudden swoosh of wind, and BANG! A drinking fountain was tossed and crashed onto the tiled pavement, missing its target by only few inches. Down the hall, Izaya heard a familiar cry. A cry that was so often used ever since their first meeting. He turned, noticing a fuming Shizuo making his way towards him.

"YOU FUCKING FLEA!"

_And oh boy, was he mad._

"Language, language, Shizu-chan! You'll never know if there are kids in here! Wait, actually, you are one. Haha! Ja ne~!"  
"What did you fucking say?!"

But Izaya had already ran away, Shizuo running after him and grew hot on the tail of the snickering raven.

.

"Get your ass back here, we're not done yet!"

"Catch me if you can~!"

.

And so, the chase begins.

.

* * *

_**What happened that night...**_

A young boy decided to take a peek. Just one peek, and only one peek on the current scenario that's occurring down by the stairs. Silently, he crouched as he arrived by the balcony, holding onto wooden rails tightly as he sat, huddling closer to it. There were joyful laughter echoing through the house, scrapings of spoonware against plates could also be heard at the meantime. Without any reasons known, it pained him. He knew that he should have accepted the invitation but he didn't have the courage to go in and face everyone. He just couldn't do it.

For few more minutes, he sat there and observed each and every passer-by's facial expressions. They were happy. Even without him, they were happy. He wondered, did they searched for him this early evening? Or did they not notice of his absence in the house? ... Perhaps they knew about the incident? The thoughts came in as a bombardment, continuously rolling by like the clouds that drifted through the sky. Finally having enough, Izaya released his grip on the railings and got up from his position.

Time to go back to his room.

Each step he took was shaky. At the meantime, the boy kept reminding himself that he was strong. And he knew he was. If the others believed he was a monster like how his father had thought, then that didn't matter. They didn't matter. What matters is that as long as mother was still there; there by his side. He knew she loves him as much as he loves her to the moon and back. But how about Psyche? For once, the raven felt like he was not the one who had suffered. Perhaps... Perhaps Psyche had faith in him and by that, he was only trying to make it up to him. Only to end up being pushed away.

When Izaya finally returned to his room, he didn't expect a surprise. Never did he once think about having a surprise in his own room, and that surprise alone appeared to be deadly because in front him was none other than– Psyche. A kitchen knife held in his grip with a wide smile adorning his pastel features.

"Surprise, Iza-nii!"

But the greeting didn't concern the crimson-eyed adolescent at all. His attention had already fell onto the blade long ago, and the fact that it was right in his beloved brother's grasp, it made him panic. It was out of instincts, he swore as he stomped towards the other and immediately snatched the blade away by force, holding it out of put just when the younger one instantly tried to reach for it. "Gah, Iza-nii! Give back!" Psyche cried out in desperate plea, but Izaya refused to give in. Not when it was a knife.

"No! Why do you have a knife?!"

"I had a reason!" The older had quirked an eyebrow in response. Reason? What reason did his younger twin had with a knife? Izaya calmly waited for the answer, the knife still placed out of the other's reach. After a moment of few more resistance, Psyche finally slumped his shoulders in defeat and staggered backwards, a pout forming on his puckered lips. "I... I just wanted you to cut the cake with me."

Izaya stared at the other in confusion. "What?" He has got to be kidding. Cut the cake with him? Is that the only reason why Psyche was here? He knew the other wasn't smart. But never once Izaya thought Psyche would bring a knife when all he could do is confront him to go downstairs and cut the cake. For some sort of a reason, it felt more like he was threatened. "Was it really necessary to bring the knife?" asked Izaya, an eyebrow remained arching. "Yes." That was the only response to his question.

"Now give back! Please!"

"No, Psyche—" In a flash, the door opened in one wide gap, catching both of the youngsters by surprise as their attention went divided.

There, their parents held their shocked expressions at the scene, loud utter of gasps heard. But why? Why did they seem so surprise? Are they doing something wrong? Izaya felt a pang of fear hit him when he saw his father's face contorted to a grimace. When said man barged into the room with a couple of steps, Izaya couldn't help but back away. No sooner than later, the knife has been knocked out of his grip; and within a matter of few seconds, he found himself being shoved onto the floor.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Izaya was completely taken aback by the sudden outburst, a whimper escaped his throat as he scrambled out of the way when his father went past him. His whole body ached, there was pain spreading through his rear. Scary, it was so scary. How can things happen so fast? Why was he pushed down? There were so, so many questions he wanted to ask. The pain was unbearable. Why, father? Why?

Hearing a yelp, he looked up to witness a heart-wrenching scene. His father had taken his twin by the arm, Psyche tried all ways to wriggle out of his firm grip before being forcibly dragged outside. Glazed crimson eyes trailed after them to the door, consideration taken when he noticed a familiar silhouette that stood by the frame. But he didn't need to voice out who it was. The silhouette belonged to no one else than his mother. His mother. Shoulders slumped, his heart taking a twist in the most painful way as their gazes meet. There were several emotions were displayed on her face, most of them which the raven could not comprehend. But there was sadness, pity, disbelief and...

Disappointment.

He wanted to call out; to tell her that he didn't do anything; that it was all simply a misunderstanding; and that he did not hurt Psyche. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. A huge lump was in his throat, preventing him from muttering any single syllable. After few moments or so, he watched as she took a hold on the knob of the door, their gaze still intact but this time, the tension became more noticeable. More unbearable. The door was near to being closed and at that very last moment, their eye contact broke off. The first one to break it was his mother. His own mother. Finally, the gap closed in, leaving only he and his presence alone in the darkness.

And so, he sat there, basking himself under the absence of light. A piece of his heart torn and crumpled to pieces like a paper, leaving only more empty spaces. He didn't make any attempt to hold back the sobs, but instead letting all griefs and sorrow come to him at once. Only one realization dawned upon the young raven as he cried to his heart's content.

_His light is gone._

* * *

**Author's note: **So, I changed the title. And oh my god, for the first time, I had a writer's block. I didn't know what to write! D: But anyway, I'm currently having examinations. It ends on the 12th of June. Thank you to those who reviewed! Ahaha, and yes, my grammar suck. orz


	7. Sixth Track

.

**.Chapter Six.**

To say that Shizuo was outraged is a misstatement. He was beyond furious. It started when they were in school earlier, having their break on the rooftops as the usual while their small group had their stories to share. When it was Psyche's turn however, he suddenly turned into an emotional wreck and it worried the blond. It took some time to have him calmed down but eventually, they heard him out and learned that the fault was of Psyche's own older brother. Upon learning this, Shizuo seethed in an inner turmoil, his vision blinded by pure rage before stalking off in search of the culprit. The others had tried to stop him, but alas, their attempts went straight down into the flushed toilet.

He chased, threw things at the fleeting culprit and basically, tried to do whatever he could to hold the brunet back down. He was well aware of the damages he have done, and he knew his reputation in Ikebukuro will become more tainted than before. "Damn it, flea. Stay still!" He went around corners, dashing into the directions he had seen where the man had run off to until he halted to a quick stop at one point.

An alley? Izaya must be playing on him again if he had head in there, especially if the sky was already turning dark. But no way, he told himself, there was no way would he let Izaya escape and get away with the miserable things he have done. A growl was released in the back of his throat and before he even knew it, his feet dragged him in, every muscle fiber of his ached each time he took a step further. Within every turn he made, there was no one to be found. Few minutes passed, and he was still not there. Shizuo nearly concluded that he had been tricked that is until he saw the flea from the corner of his eyes, immediately gaining his attraction by the time he fully turned to that direction. So far, things were good now that he found him. Izaya did not seem to notice the blond's presence either.

Shizuo silently took few more step forwards, a garbage bin nearby lifted into the air with his one arm and with a steady aim, he tossed the object at his target. "IZAYA!" Unfortunately, he missed. Nearly a perfect aim but somehow, Izaya managed to dodge his attack. Angrily, his eyes flashed to where the man was, a bit astonished to see that Izaya could climb up the walls with speed and reached to the top of the building.

"You fucking bastard! Where do you think you are..." The blond started, taking whatever that was near him when a metal pipe connected to the wall was torn, ready to be used and thrown at his nemesis. He didn't care whether he was vandalising or not, even if it would get him locked up in jail but right now, nothing more mattered than his goal to destroy that one nuisance who've always messed with and ruined everyone's lives. But then, that was Izaya. A pest who won't stop ticking you off and annoy you for his own sick, twisted entertainment. It fueled the blond's engine even more as soon as Psyche turned up in his mind.

"Fucking flea, you really want to die, do ya?! Why don't you get your ass down from there and let me kill you till you're dead!"

"Did you chase me all the way to tell me that? Ah, I'm not surprised. Especially with that neanderthal brain of yours."

Eye twitched. What the hell did that flea mean by that? Sure, he was not one of the bright people but there was one thing that Shizuo had that made him up for it. His vigilance. Picking up from the tone that Izaya had used, Shizuo did not falter to notice how different that playful tone seemed to sound than all the previous ones.

"At least I don't have the sick mind who gets pleasure from ruining people's lives!"

"Shizuo."

That alone was enough to catch his attention. The blond froze, pausing on his actions as he heard his first initial being called out for the first time by his nemesis who often teased him. It was so out of character for him to suddenly call out his name like that, alongside with a rather grievous tone used. Somehow, Shizuo didn't like the thought of what would come next. If anything, this would be the first time that Izaya was being serious around him. Reluctantly, he let the metal pipe held in his hands clattered onto the ground, assuming that his nemesis was trying to bring up a decent conversation between them. Strangely enough, Shizuo appeared to be calm in the presence of his enemy for once.

"Try to answer this question briefly."

Silence.

"What would you do if you see your beloved one taken away by another?"

* * *

Night time had fallen, wind gushed from the northern side of the city as its peaceful ambiance began to dawn on the citizens from the night sky. One of the things he admired were how often the stars came into view whenever he walked his way back to his home to call for the night. It was always like this. After the usual days of marking his attendence at school, he would stay out for quite a while till the sight of night was seen. Whenever it rained however, Izaya would stay under a shelter and wait till the tears of the sky finally came to a stop and only then he began to leisurely take his time on walking back home.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

The pace of his steps quickened, a turn being made here and there as the traffic noises were blocked out from his ears. By now, the only things that he could hear were the erratic sounds of his heavy panting accompanied by a loud shriek and another clash between an object and a wall. A smirk slowly crept its way towards the informant's lips. How unpredictable. It seems that the brute was actually serious if he bothered to continue his rampage in search of him for this long.

Did it had to do with something? Then it hit him that the reason behind it was most likely relating to the incident that happened last night. For some reason, a tingling sensation began to churn within his stomach at that simple thought of Psyche complaining to Shizuo. As much as he wouldn't like to admit, he knew that it was jealousy eating him alive from the very start. But then, is there ever a moment when Izaya was _not _jealous of Psyche for one? Perhaps.

A bellowed yell was suddenly heard, snapping the brunet's attention as he nearly collided into the wall. A wall? This could only mean one thing. A dead end. "Tch." His brows furrowed when the wall was merely few inches away from his face, his fist clenched in anger while few strings of curses were muttered. No, he was not angry that there was a wall preventing him from escape but rather, it was more like he grew angry at himself.

"IZAYA!"

And it just so happened to be in time when Izaya successfully dodged the garbage bin was thrown at him, and with the help of his parkour skills, he made a huge leap for and reached on building's edge, panting almost heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Yet a faint smirk crept in shortly afterwards, his eyes narrowed to the side. Huh, looks like he's on the losing side for once.

"Fucking flea, you really want to die, do ya?! Why don't you get your ass down from there and let me kill you till you're dead!" Izaya scoffed inwardly at the last statement. Now that he gave a thought about it, was it possible to die again when you're already dead?

"Did you chase me all the way to tell me that? Ah, I'm not surprised. Especially with that neanderthal brain of yours."

"At least I don't have the sick mind who gets pleasure from ruining people's lives!"

There was a question he needed to ask. He wanted to know what did Psyche mean to the blond, he wanted to know what made the blond drawn to him. Despite knowing all the reasons to why, he wanted to hear all those answers from the man himself, not from his silly intuition. Thus, that was when Izaya decided to be serious for quite a bit.

"Shizuo."

Izaya slightly turned, the smirk prior to the event vanished adnd replaced by a frown rarely seen as he held a gaze upon the renowned strongest man of Ikebukuro. He could see the hesitation in the other's face when he called him out by his name, even if his expectancy was rather low, Izaya was uncertain whether or not would he'd hear him out. However, it seems that the latter was chosen and it too surprised Izaya, sensing the already tranquil aura around the young man was something not expected at all. And there stood the pair, spending their time to observe the other in silence, each second that ticked felt like eternity when not one of them dared to break the contact.

"Try to answer this question briefly." However, the question spilled from his mouth went to another different kind of matter. "What would you do if you see your beloved one taken away by another?"

His question was met with silence. Placing a hand into the pockets of his leather pants, he watched as a typical nasty face was thrown at his way in response, already knowing what type of reply he'll receive just by looking at the other's face.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it." He casually replied, hiding his desperation as he prepared himself to jump off the fence and scramble away like expected, but the brute on the other hand wasn't helping.

"I don't see why I need to answer your question, flea. This is another mind trick game ya just planning again, isn't it?"

Ah, as hardheaded the protozoan could ever be. Such a waste of his precious time. If only he had- no, he should have not asked the brute that question at all. That would only leave him being suspicious which he suppose he already was being one since the start. Without bothering to answer his question, Izaya changed the course of his own direction, his back now facing the blond. Oh well. Looks like it was time to put the end of their another chase game. In a blink of an eye, he vanished from the blond's sight, leaving the poor baffled creature in the midst of the dark alley.

* * *

_**Seven years later...**_

It was a cold, chilly night. The wind from the cooled air conditioners swirled up in the apartment, moving to the north then to the west and so on till the procedure repeats, the temperature in each room ended up in few degrees celsius. "Say, Namie. Could you tell me your conception on humans and how you view the world? Such pawns they merely are. Humans certainly are interesting. Most claim to be different but in the end, they're as plainly the same as all the other beings. Do you know why?" A voice echoed through the darkness, the only lights glowing were from the enormous frames where a figure sat nearby. However, the face of the figure could not be seen as he had turned the swiveling chair to the window, a hand rested on its arm.

Namie sighed, taking the papers she had arranged earlier and placed them on another stack of files. "Why?" She questioned in a cold tone, not showing even the slightest hint of interest in whatever the informant had to say. Perhaps if she responded to her employer's rambling for only one time, she won't have to hear anymore nonsense that would do further damage to her brain.

"Ah, you finally answered me! I guess that did catch your interest. Now, to your question, my dear assistant. The reason why humans ended up all the same is because they always have these things they hid from other people. They don't want others to know what they have done or what they tend to do, in fear of having to face embarrassment and the consequences that they know they'll have to accept. Isn't it quite shameful?"

"You speak as if you have nothing to hide."

Now that was enough to plague the informant's mind with unwanted memories. Flashbacks occurring in the back of his mind but it was instantly put off, a low chuckle being released throughout the chamber before it turned into a hysterical laugh. He, Orihara Izaya, had something to hide? That was laughable! "Do not doubt me so easily, Namie-san. I don't fear embarrassment and I certainly do not fear consequences. They matter no more to me now. Why else did you think I take this job? And obtain the rank of the best informant to the underground businesses? Because I have absolutely nothing to hide, I don't have to be afraid of having my weaknesses exposed."

"Are you saying that you do have a weakness?"

"Every single thing that's exists has a weakness. Even a god can succumb and falter so easily to nothing more than a simple creature who once ruled if his weak spot has been found."

"So, you do have a weakness. Then you are wrong about having nothing to hide, considering how indirectly you have answered me."

"Hm. Vigilant, aren't we?" Another chuckle was released, his chair spun around to start an eye contact with his assistant, expecting for a debate to break out. Nevertheless, Namie responded with a stoic stare, her arms crossed and pushed up to her chest whilst steadily maintaining the heated eye contact. "Of course. I learned from the best, after all."

"You learned well." Izaya was the first to break the eye contact, turning away as if nothing had ever happened, lips curled up into nothing more than a smirk. "As an award, would you like to know my weakness in return then?"

"... Huh?"

"Would you like to know the weakness of Orihara Izaya?"

* * *

**[Track 6]**

Orihara Izaya here again. Huh, it's been quite a while since I did another recording. But I guess I just needed time to recollect my thoughts and record them when I need to release it. Besides, there weren't much things to do here. The only things they gave me were food, drinks, and this shitload of recording stuffs in which I have no idea what should I do with it. I think they were telling me to do something. But anyway, back to the story. Things simply hadn't been the same anymore since then. The remaining light of my life disappeared like it was never there at all, and ended up being hallucinations that left behind non-existent memories.

I guess that while I was still growing, these complications and hardships that I faced through my life managed to help me endure torture more at ease. Hm, I wonder how they are all doing by now. Especially that stupid protozoan. It's been a week since I've last seen him. Probably. I don't know. I'm tired enough to lost track of the days that I've been kept here. Feels like I've been held captive. Or maybe, I already am considered captured.

_SFX: Chuckle._

Guess they're not searching for me at all, huh. Not even Psyche? Oh well, I suppose this is where the most interesting part finally take place. Where Orihara Izaya- Orihara Izaya can't predict things anymore. Ahaha... Ahahaha- ahahahaha! Humans are just so interesting, this is why I love you all! Only I can fill the gaps in your hole, only I can show you how much you're wanted in this world! Only I can show how much you're loved! Ahahahaha!

_SFX: Laughter dies into silence._

And that's why humans should love me in return. When no one loves you anymore, who else do you have to love you? Me, of course. That way, you don't have to feel lonely. In fact, don't ever think you're lonely. Therefore, my dear humans, please use my love wisely, will you? Promise me that you'll love me just like how I love you. That's a promise.

_... Click!_

**[End of sixth track.]**

* * *

**Author's note: **Hello! I am back, my dear friends. ( _ _ ) Anyway, now that my exams officially ended, I'd like to apologize for the awfully late delay on my updates but that's because I have so many schoolwork and exams to catch up to. Besides that, I got the second position in my class for having the highest exams grades, I also got the first position for having the highest grade in overall of tenth grade for English! Sadly, I didn't get to receive the awarding because the time of the event was coincidental with my exam. orz

Once again, sorry for the grammar mistakes, I tend to write things hastily when it comes to long stories. I don't even know why, AHA. Okay, so this chapter somehow ends the era of their high school days. Now we're moving onto the era when our babies are now fully grown ups.

Thank you for the reviews and the wait! (:


	8. Seventh Track I

.

**Chapter Seven  
Seventh Track I**

Once upon a time, there was an angel. Never once had he disobeyed his God, the ruler of all. He was God's favorite or as so said until one day, the first appearance of a human spoiled everything by foiling and pulling on the strings of jealousy inside him. Indeed, the angel became jealous as anger was clearly evident in his eyes. The jealousy drew him insane until finally, it managed to push him into saying things what he had what human did not. For that, he was proud. But who knew? A boast, a small boast that was actually the truth was all it took to become a fallen angel. From then on, he called himself; the Devil. And jealousy became his weakness.

Weakness. Everyone has them. Those who does not have a weakness, they are to be seen as invincible. In the modern world where realism exists, none _( but the prophecies filled of lies )_ had a weakness. The prophecies included myth and urban legends as well. Albeit, that did not mean every single story that lived for decades were lies. Izaya knew this, and Izaya learned it the hard way. For once, he was an angel and now dubbed by few people, a devil.

If only they knew that the term devil was not suitable enough for him. Izaya was more than that. Izaya faced much more complications than the Devil. If that was not exaggerating enough then he might as well be the devil, himself.

"If this isn't a truly boring day?"

Hot tea was poured into his cup, the teapot soon found its way back onto the table as its lad, the cup was brought near to its owner's lips. One sip and it took less than a second for the tongue to get burned, the informant tore the cup away from his lips immediately, his face contorted into some sort of a twist by a second later. Too hot, Izaya thought to himself before placing the cup back down.

"I wonder what I should do today. Pester my lovely beast again?"

"Namie sure is coming in late." He began to tap his fingers against his desk, his ears listened to the rhythm the clock made. Tick tock, tick tock. It granted him no ease nor comfort. If anything, it made him more nervous. Delusional. Perhaps delusional as he started to hear the sounds of his heartbeat in his head. Thump thump, thump thump. And it was that moment when death flashed across his mind.

_Sigh._

There was exactly nothing to do today. There were no appointments as of today, and so far, no one had contacted him. Not even that pestering Psyche who had somehow gotten his number. It must have been Kururi and Mairu, he sneered. Those two often played around with him. They hate him, it was clearly obvious although he knew that there has to be a part of them somewhere that didn't hate him. But ah, who was he kidding? What a fool he was to think that they'll care.

Now that he gave a thought, it had been years since he met up with his family. Not that he'd like to meet them, given that they were still on terms of sour relationship but that didn't affect the informant much anymore. At least, that was what he managed to convince himself.

All these years, he have been coped up in his peaceful quaint apartment. His apartment was quite large, too big for a single person yet Izaya felt perfectly fine with it. It was better than living in a cramped space. As much as he enjoyed his peace in his nest, there are times he'd admit when the peaceful atmosphere in the air broke. Shattered into all tiny pieces whenever the barrier to his apartment was barged through by none other than Heiwajima Shizuo.

_Shizuo._

Where was he now, he wondered?

'Probably off with Psyche again.' Bitterly thought he, the bubbling sensation in his stomach began to boil at the sudden thought of his sibling together with his... what?

What was Shizuo to him now?

A nemesis?

An arch-enemy?

A former crush?

The grip on the handle of his cup tightened, and for a second, he felt his heart tightening and wrenching in agony. No, no, he shouldn't be feeling this way. There is no way would he still like Shizuo anymore. They hate each other, they've decided that. From the very start when their eyes laid on each other, they were destined to be enemies. Never lovers like Shizuo with Psyche.

Fate decided to have them as enemies.

**RING! RING!**

Pullled back into reality quite harshly, Izaya looked to the side and saw one of his smart phones on the table ringing rather loudly. Probably a client. And this early in the morning too! With a grin covering up his lips, he released swirled his chair around and pushed to get to the other side of the table. His hand distinctively reaching out for the ringing phone as he flipped it open, answering it with a tone filled of delight. "Yes, hello! Orihara Izaya at your service!"

_"Are you?"_

This voice sounds too familiar.

"Hm? Of course, it is. Is there something you'd like me to provide you? A delicious information, perhaps?" Izaya responded in a sugary tone, another sip taken from his cup of tea.

_"... Sunshine 60 Observatory. Tonight. Eight o'clock sharp. "_

Then the phone was hang up, leaving the informant's ears listening to a buzz of deadline instead.

...

...

...

Who was that? The voice sounded very familiar but Izaya could not tell who it was at all. Confusion settled into his mind as he pulled the phone away from his ears, looking down at the number that said- ''000-000-0000". Odd, how odd. Then it struck him what the number meant.

_Creak._

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Izaya turned, seeing his secretary entering through the door with a box filled of papers in her hand.

"You're late again." He smiled as if nothing had happened at all. Namie on the other hand simply scoffed before replying, "It's not like I'm late everyday. What about you? You don't turn up at work most of the time."

"Namie."

"What?"

"Have you heard of a phone number that's listed with all zero's?"

"A phone number that has no number at all. Does that even exist?"

"It does."

"Ah?" The brunette glanced at him right after placing down the box on her desk harshly. Izaya however continued to smile, sensing the curiosity that seeped from his secretary.

"Hackers."

"... What?"

"The phone number suggests that this caller wishes not to have their central spot discovered. People usually do this when they wish to deceive the caller, by means of finding out their address or to scare them. And if they were to be found out in the process, they wouldn't have to worry about getting captured. After all, they have this blockage, something that covers the real numbers of their phone which prevents people nor the police from seeing their IP address."

"... Why are you even telling me this?"

Izaya simply continued to smile. Now that reminded him, why didn't he checked the number earlier before picking it up? What was even more odd they even said his name. This was definitely not someone who was trying to coax him into purchasing something or tell them their address. This was, without a doubt, definitely intentional. He frowned, unconsciously gripping hard onto the handle of his cup, a loud CRACK! sound heard and before he even knew it, the tea was spilled onto his pants followed by the fragile bowl which rolled down somehow and ended up lying in shards on the ground. And whoever that was, they have successfully managed to throw Izaya off guard.

Why does he feel like there's something bad about to happen?

"— Ah, I spilled tea on my pants."

**Sunshine 60 Street. 7:28PM, 5th February.**

Izaya looked up from the screen, flipping his phone closed as his eyes scanned through the crowd that brushed against him. The young man who was in his twenties wore his typical trimmed fur jacket and his usual simple black pants. He visited Russian Sushi for a while back then, ordering for his usual ootoro sashimi slices before he could proceed to meet this mystery man.

This mystery man who was being suspicious.

The informant knew that he know this man. And this man too somehow knew him. It frustrated him to no end, frustration became evident in his face for only a short second. Izaya was used to solving problems quickly, he was used to figuring people out easily.

He supposed that's why there were times when he can't help but feel annoyed by Shizuo, his twin sisters and most importantly, Psyche. Ah, Psyche. That stupid boy who kept making an effort to get their friendship back. When will he ever understand that Izaya wished not to see his face ever again? What did Shizuo even see in him?

Shaking off the train of his thoughts, Izaya kept walking towards the choice of his destination. Quickly before the envy begins to eat away his heart.

Few moments later, he now stands before the tallest building in Ikebukuro. Sunshine 60 Observatory should be at the top floor since it was the place to view Ikebukuro from all angles. Pushing back the doubts and negative thoughts, he slipped through the doors and is now heading his way to the said place.

It is now eight o'clock. Sharp just as how the stranger had told him over the phone.

By now, he was not too far away from the entrance. With a deep breath, Izaya leisurely took few more steps then turned to enter the observatory section where the landscape of all Ikebukuro could be seen.

_Three steps away._

There was the entrance. He didn't know why but for some reason, he can't help but feel nervous. The thumping sounds of his heart began to sound a bit more loud.

_Two steps away._

His hands slowly reached out to slide open the door. Then he paused for a moment, wondering if it really was the right thing to meet up with this stranger. It might have been a little bit too late but what if- what if it was his father? No, no, it couldn't be. He distinctively remembered the stranger's voice sounded higher than his father's voice was.

_One step away._

It didn't take long until his determination suddenly sprang back up to life, and with courage now settling into his mind, Izaya finally slid the door open. And when he did enter by taking a step forward, his anticipation was quickly flushed down the toilet. He might have expected the person a tall man with a suit on. But instead, what he saw was not expected. There, in front of him were several bodies lying lifeless with blood splattered all over the ground.

—–— what?

His eyes widened, the smell of blood tasted like copper in his mouth but Izaya could not move nor could he scream. Instead, he stood there frozen with a hand still latched onto the sliding door handle. Who... Who were these people?

_**"HEY, HOLD ON THERE!"**_

The voice startled Izaya slightly as he quickly made a move to turn around. The police now had Izaya surrounded, and only then did he realize—

_**he had been framed.  
**_

* * *

**Author's note:**

To one of those reviewers out there: this story isn't exactly a reference to Frozen and Thirteen Reasons Why. I'll admit that Frozen was actually the sole reason that inspired me to do this fanfiction, and I was actually going to do almost the exact same plot like the movie but eventually with few ideas from friends, I managed to make a whole another kind of story. Also, I did some research on Thirteen Reasons Why, now I could see why you thought I made a reference to it.

Thank you for the reviews very much! I'm glad that I was able to update this story, I was actually debating on putting this story to a hiatus. To be honest, I actually planned to have the Raijin Days to be longer but I wanted the story to go faster as well. But no worries, I will try to add in some fillers regarding Raijin Days back then. And sorry for the lateness, I had a story block. orz


	9. Seventh Track II

.

**Chapter eight**  
**Seventh Track II**

The scene that has fallen upon him is finally taking a toll. Corpses continued to lie at his feet, drenched in a color resembling of red wine as its stench slowly made him felt the urge to puke. Regrets too plagued his mind; but most importantly, panic seized him at this very moment when the informant came to realize that he was surrounded.

Like a pack of dogs cornering a cat.

His breathing grew slightly heavy over time, the thumps against his chest began to ring loudly in his ears, reminding him of the clock's tick tocks within each heartbeat. This was far too much for his heavy heart and puzzled mind to take. The only thing he knew afterwards was the fact regarding him he getting framed. No doubt, this was definitely a set-up.

As much as he'd love to apprehend this situation, Izaya knew he had to get out of there. Fast. There was no time for running down the stairs. And he was certain this could leave the police at an advantage by calling recruitment on him, meaning that even if he had reached the first floor, he would be greeted by more cops. In this case, it seems that he would have to use the elevator and jump out a window from the second level. It didn't sound like a bad plan at all.

Then again, it is likely that they will somehow await for him to reach, and it was very unlikely that they would wait for him by the stairs.

Sweat began to prickle down at his forehead, his vermilion eyes surged through the barricade the police had built up. Izaya could take them down easily but with his current state, he knew all too well that it can put him at risk. Even a simple action such as a hand dipping down into his pocket caught their attention.

This action alone caused them to bring out their guns. Fast and swift, they aimed the weapons at him from different angles, the look in their eyes showed how wary they were of this man. Izaya noticed this, but did not say anything. If he was in their position, he'd understand why. After all, who would believe that this ordinary man had taken down this number of lives into his hands? There were about ten or more lifeless bodies sprawled over the ground.

"Put your hands up!"

Silence lingered in the atmosphere.

_**"I said put your hands up!"**_

The informant complied. A switchblade that had been in his pocket for some time had he quietly slipped it up in his sleeves, his attention solely focusing on the nervous men before him. Slowly, he retracted his hands from the pockets, opened palms to reassure them that he is not armed. This seemed to have put their guards' down, their hands dangled to the side and one of them began to approach after a given signal to capture him.

Heh. He smirked inwardly. Did they think that he'd ever let them catch him? Not even in a million of years.

Little did they know that they have walked right into his trap.

Izaya instantly delivered a kick to the man's head, its impact hard enough to force the man stumble and fall. The others were quick to react, but Izaya was quicker. As the man stumbled and fall, he drove one of the heels of his shoes on his back and used it as an object to give him a push through the air, and there the informant went, flying past over the barricade the police had put up before gracefully landing onto the ground and made for an escape.

_"Oi, he's getting away-!"_

Pulling triggers filled the room but the only thing that Izaya could think of was _these policemen sure is a slow poke_. They could not match his agility, Izaya knew that. The only advantage they had was their guns. Heading towards the elevator, he pressed the button, a _TING!_ sound echoed as the brunet immediately walked in, slamming onto a button that brings him fifty-five floors down.

_"He's there! Quick, before the elevator goes down!"_

Before a bullet could even be aimed at him, he quickly swayed to hide his body by the side. The door finally slid closed before the cops had the chance to get through them. And when the door closed, he felt relieved behind the closed doors. Seems like the gods up there does exist and they decided to be on his side, he joked to himself. Alas however, he now has the time to himself to comprehend the dire of his current situation, a thing to do to kill time as he waited for the lift to reach his destination without getting anxious.

Now that he has the time... His eyes slightly narrowed.

How had this happened in the first place?

His thoughts flickered to the phone call he had earlier; the dots connected when everything began to make sense.

Could it be a sheer coincidence?

No, it couldn't be a coincidence. The police had arrived there right after he did. Why else would the stranger tell him to arrive at seven o'clock sharp? Well, unless their destination wasn't supposed to be at the top floor of Sunshine 60 Observatory building. But then again, now that he gave a thought, the caller never did specify.

Unless... They have predicted and planned this.

If that was the case, then who was the person responsible for this?

And what is their purpose? For revenge?

Nevertheless, Izaya felt like a fool for taking a part of their games. For the first time, he was thrown into an utter confusion. All these questions, they would only wind up bringing in more questions in the end. And at the same time, it reminded him back then when his father thought he was trying to pull a knife on his younger brother.

Izaya silently gritted his teeth.

The world... It is a really cruel place to live in.

Another _**TING!**_

The bell sounded once more, much to Izaya's surprise. As he looked up, he noticed that the lift had stopped at the twenty-fifth floor. Just twenty more floors till his destination has reached. The doors to the elevator slid open, revealing a mysterious cloaked figure. Whether the person was a male or female, it was slightly impossible for him to tell given the amount of wrappings worn. Izaya watched as he entered, his anxiety feeding him incredulous ideas that he might be a cop.

After what seemed like a several decades, the elevator finally stopped, its bell notifying him of his arrival. By the time the doors opened, Izaya hurriedly ran out and turned a corner, sparing no glance at the man as soon as he left.

The only thing that matters right now is his success in escaping the place.

No one was following him. That was the raven thought, a little doubt lingered in his mind that there may be someone watching him secretly. So, it couldn't be helped if he looked back for a few more couple of times, even if no one was there. His little running ceased when a window was

There was no turning back now. Both hands latched onto the open window, his slender frame slipped through and with a harsh kick, he sent the window closed. The young man flipped and rolled onto the surface of another building, the friction had scraped his knees, and after putting a massive amount of energy to use today, he panted for few good seconds. The once tallest building of Asia stood in his sight, glowering dangerously upon him, as if it was mocking him with its massive size compared to his.

An alarm of sirens reached to his ears, snapping the raven out of his trance. Curiosity took over him as he walked closer to the edge where he could see the scene going on. The ambulances has arrived, and there were few police cars parking outside the building. He watched intently if not for a second, a small voice inside said to him quietly_, it's time to go_. Just like that, he disappeared from the scene.

...

CREAK— _**SLAM!**_

A sigh rolled off his tongue as Izaya quietly slipped his shoes off, a glance thrown at the clock that hung on the wall. It was nearly midnight; and he had came home tired, now having the urge to sleep in his comfy be. As he entered the living room however, he didn't expect his secretary on the couch with papers in hand. "Where have you been?" The resentful, silent atmosphere curtly broken off by a question.

Izaya, on the other hand, went to plop against the couch beside her, grinning as if nothing ever happened. "Eh? If this isn't rare? Namie is worried about me? Don't tell me that Namie finally gotten over her brother and fell for me instead?" He teased in a mocking tone, bringing up his legs to place them over Namie's lap.

He watched as Namie rolled her eyes slightly at this point, her hands reached to shove the male's legs off of her before moving away further. "You still have yet to answer my question. Where have you been?"

"And you are concern because?"

"You haven't given me my paycheck."

"Is that why you're waiting for me to come back?" Izaya chuckled, "That was expected from you. They're in the drawer. By the way, if you'd be so kind, could you please fetch me some coffee?"

Rolling to his side, he reached for the remote control on the table, his fingers lazily working over to switch on the television as his secretary headed off with a visibly irritated face. Ah, how fun it was to poke fun at her. Izaya thought, flipping through the channels with dull interest, trying to find something that would at least spark his interest and ease his fatigue.

Just as he switched to next channel however.

_"— fourteen people were murdered in Tokyo's tallest building, the Sunshine 60 Observatory. The culprit is said to be last seen fleeing from the scene after."_

There it is. The news regarding the incident earlier. "Ah, now look. It's all over the news now." Izaya commented aloud before sitting up, curiosity glinted in his eyes as he watched; which was odd since ordinary people would fret over, worrying that their face would end up in the television. Not that he was not worried, but it happened before.

"What's all over the news?"

"A massacre." He slowly started, ignoring the stare from Namie when she returned with his coffee in hand. "It turns out that the meeting I'm supposed to have with a client was some kind of a trap."

"A trap? Does this trap happen to be the massacre?" Namie bent over, not so gently placing the cup on the coffee table.

"Oh, Namie. You really are catching up fast, I see." Izaya teasingly taunted once more, "I'll let you know what. This isn't the first time. I faced the same case like this before."

"Tch." She scoffed, standing upright before moving hands placed on her hips. "Well, you probably deserved it."

"Probably. But anyway, this case is different but it somehow has the same concept. Rumors had it that I'm involved in a criminal case back then, and when it reached to the police, they set out to search for me. I didn't want a nuisance to get on my back while I'm busy doing things so, I placed Shizuo at fault. I can't say that I regretted it in the very least."

"Karma got to you, huh?"

"Well, unlike last time. They saw me there with their own eyes earlier and it's unlikely for them to believe me if I decided to turn up and tell them that I'm not the one responsible."

"And?" Namie looked down at him with curiosity, now blocking the television from his sight, causing the informant to snap his head up at her. "What are you going to do now? Blame it on Shizuo again like how this person did?" Izaya stared at her, eventually breaking the eye contact as he waved her off. "Maybe."

"By the way, can you make me some food? I didn't manage to eat just now.~"

"I've already done enough. Go make it yourself."

Namie spared him not another glance, scoffing for one last time then ambled off, having more important things to do in mind rather than talking with her employer. The raven could only chuckle, closing his eyes for a moment before plopping back against the couch. "But you know... This is really weird. This person... Whoever he is... He's planning something." His face deadpanned as his eyes stared up at the ceiling. "Whatever it is, I don't like it."

Few seconds gone by; and those good seconds turned into minutes. Izaya spent his time lying on the couch, taking a good night nap. It might be the bad thing to do as of now, because of the situation he gotten himself into but he figured that it was also for the best if he had a long day tomorrow. Then out of the blue, a ring vibrated throughout the apartment, catching the Orihara slightly off guard.

He sat up, tossing a wary glance at the phone on his office desk. Pushing himself off the couch, he drowsily made his way through for the phone and picked it up, reading the number first before he answered it.

**000-000-0000.**

It was the same number once again. Izaya at first felt reluctant in picking up the call, but his thirst for answers quenched against his repression. Damn it, did it have to be now out of all days? Without a further ado, he lets his thumb hover over the answer button. The phone had rang for few seconds but to him, it felt like years. With some courage gathered later on, he eventually hit the button, slowly bringing the phone up to his ears. "Hello?"

_"Finally, you answered! I nearly thought you were dead. But anyway, did you like the gift?"_

Izaya flinched at the familiar tone of the voice. Bastard. He planned all of this, didn't he? "Hm, I don't know. I found your gift too absurd for my taste." He wittily replied.

_"Aw, and I thought you liked it."_

It's official. Izaya now holds a bad impression and a grudge against this stranger. "Perhaps if you were there as well. Are you sure you gave me the right location?" He scowled even if the man could not see it through the phone.

A chuckle sounded from the other line, sending the chills down his spine.

_"Izaya-san. I don't recall telling you the place specifically. All I said was the Sunshine 60 Observatory. Either that meant the top floor or the building itself which literally meant it could be anywhere. I wasn't expecting you to take the fall, but you did by winding up taking the top floor when it could have been at anywhere else. You're pretty much at the right spot though."_

"... How cruel. The next time you're going to do this again, _sir_, I request you to be there as well."

_"Ah, ah, already mad at me? Ne, it's not my fault that you walked into that place. But at least, you escaped, right? You used the elevator then jumped from a window to escape, right?" _He could feel it. The grin widening on this stranger's face. There was no doubt, this stranger was mocking him; and how he knew that Izaya had escaped, he also would like to know. But it didn't take long until his mind shifted to the figure back then, the mysterious cloaked figure entering the elevator he was in.

"The man in the lift earlier... It was you."

_"And I'm a bit hurt that you didn't greet me back then."_

And this statement alone had confirmed his suspicions. The intuition that told him that there was someone watching him earlier- it was right from the start. He should have stopped there. He should have taken the man down and asked what are his purposes. "What do you want?"

_"Ne, do you really want to know?"_

No answer was given as soon as that was asked, uncertainty filling him up. "... Who are you?"

_"So much for being the most reliable informant. You know who I am, Izaya-san. Since you're an informant, I think I'll leave it up to you to figure out, ne? But most importantly, I think you should be more worried about your safety."_

"What are you talking about?"

_"Ne, are you watching the news right now?"_

"The news..."

He turned his attention to the television almost immediately, forgetting that he had left the news channel on. And when he did, he felt surprised. But he shouldn't be surprised. He shouldn't be surprised at all. So, why was he surprised now? No, it wasn't for the fact that his picture had appeared in the television screen but it was the writing of ¥10,000,000 beneath it.

_"—__The man who is suspected for the killings is Orihara Izaya. A __**ten million yen reward **__would be given to whoever caught the suspect..."_

_"Izaya. I wish you good luck."_ A faint voice told over the screen,the line going dead shortly afterwards. A ten million yen reward. He understood what was happening now, and when he did, he lets his hand fall to his side, the phone slipped from his grip.

Ah, he really should have seen this coming.

That one day, his refuge would soon come to an end and someone successfully managed to play him out as he felt completely exposed to the stranger on the other line.

He slowly clenched his fist, hard enough to draw out blood. Never had he felt this way before. Never had he feel so frustrated in his life. Whatever happened to him being a god among humans? Was this... how it felt like to be used? "Namie. You're off for a month." But in the end, he wore a smile. The very same smile he had always wore; regardless, no one ever knew what lies behind his smiles.

With a foot lifted up, he stomped against the phone for a couple of times, leaving the screen cracked.

Silence.

... What should he do now?

He then turned to his other phones laid out on the table, blankly staring at them as his mind drifted off to a certain underground doctor and a dullahan.

...

**At the same time, somewhere among the citizens of Ikebukuro...**

In a cabin where it is not too small nor too big, everything was arranged in an organized manner. Every single thing, even boxes under shelf was not covered by a speck of dust, scent of musky lavender filled the room acquainted by the sounds of an air conditioner turned on. Most people would want a larger place to live in but to him, he was perfectly content with the size. As long as he found a quiet place to settle in for his self, there was no problem.

"Not bad."

Another young man in his twenties muttered to himself as he skimmed through the messages posted on the Dollars forum. This young man was no more ordinary than other humans. But he liked to think that he was different. He liked to think that because of his derived innocent appearance, people would think that he's harmless. Ah, if only they knew how wrong they were. Due to his childish-like appearance, people doubted what he was capable of. That was fine however, as he only took it as an advantage.

It was because of that, he was a manipulative man.

"... Though I do find it quite a bit disappointing that you managed to get away with not even a scratch after you walked into a trap. That's impressive." He continued talking to himself, a twinkle was seen in his glossy magenta eyes as he kept reading the texts. On his phone screen was the Dollars dashboard, the forum endlessly popping up with messages regarding the news. And this was all the man needed as proof that he succeeded in his plans.

"You may have escaped from the police's clutches but even you know that this is not the end... But it was expected of you, really. Who knew that you would fell for the trick?"

Not even batting an eye, he locked the screen, his head tilted upwards to stare at the plain ceiling. Inside his mind, no one could read what his thoughts were. Little did they know they were filled with vicious thoughts, and sometimes memories that are often reminisced and played over repeatedly in his head.

"Ah, Izaya. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." The young man chuckled. "You made a wrong move, and now all the tables would soon be turned against you, indulging you whole. But that's okay."

Tossing his phone onto the bed behind him, he lets his figure slumped. His gaze suddenly shot up to the picture of a man in a fur-trimmed jacket stuck to the wall with a thumbtack.

"It's not like you knew that you've been played from the very start. Right? But it's not like you've suspected me from the start either." And next to the picture was a frame, and inside the frame was an image that displayed two brunets when they were children; one red-eyed and one pink-eyed, their arms latching over each other as their best grins were worn. _Or not so best, _the young man thought to himself.

"... You probably won't even think that _**your beloved brother **_was behind this. Only because he looks too innocent and loves you too much to do this. Aren't I right?"

"But ah, that's where you are wrong. And that is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and its summary." A smile began to broke out from his lips.

"... Ne, _**Iza-nii."**_

A dart was picked up from the side where he sat.

**"I think it's time for you to learn the harsh truth."**

Then the dart was shot, marking the spot of a picture where the victim of his play's forehead was.

...

**[ Seventh track. ]**

_Rustle. Rustle._

_Thump._

_Sigh._

... Who would have thought it would come to this? Recalling a few days back then, I remembered how this all started. No, actually, it started since the very beginning. I should have seen it coming. But I suppose things have gotten worse after I received a phone call. Without even looking at the number, I simply pressed the button and answered the caller ID's number.

I expected it to be my client, but it was not at all. The voice that rang through the other side of the phone call, it sounded vaguely familiar. The only thing is, I wasn't able to tell who they were. The voice didn't sound deep. It didn't sound too high pitched either, but it was definitely a man. The voice clearly told me through the call, _meet me at Sunshine 60 Observatory_. They didn't say specify whether the building itself or the floor, so I admit that I took a wild guess and assumed it was the top floor.

Maybe it was my mistake, perhaps I have went to the wrong floor.

Ah, who am I kidding? I wished it was easier to convince myself with these lies.

In the end, it wasn't the wrong floor at all. Someone out there definitely is trying to get rid of me. And what I am going to do now is unravel the truth and expose the mastermind behind all of this.

—–— _CLICK!_

**[ End of seventh track. ]**

* * *

**Author's note**: Hm, I wonder who this mastermind is. ;) I tried to be more descriptive this time. I hope you all would like it. One question for you all, what is it do you like about this story? I mean, I found it quite surprising that I managed to get this far. I was very sure that this story wouldn't get this far.

Also, I changed the summary that made no sense whatsoever, lmao.


	10. Eight Track I

.

**Chapter nine**  
**Eight track I**

* * *

A trip to a certain underground doctor's apartment was made that very night. With a luggage packed in hand, Izaya remained in front of Shinra's apartment, one end of his lips curled down in dissatisfaction as he stared blankly ahead. It had been nearly an hour since he arrived at his destination; nearly an hour had he stood in front of the door. Yet, no one answered it even up to now. Much to the raven's dismay.

It took a longer time than the usual and it was nearly eleven o'clock in the evening. More beads of sweat rolled down against his forehead, but due to exhaustion, they weren't wept away and the sweat glued its scent onto his skin afterwards.

"I'm going to need a bath after this..." He sighed, now glaring at the the door while the thought of having a bath sounded relishing at this very moment. After all, now that he is wanted for a ten million yen reward, he had to be careful. A tad more careful than the usual. The hunt has now begun, Izaya was certain of this. There was also a possibility that some of his clients may try to lure him out and use this as an advantage. Because it's not until a little while later after the news, few of his phones started to ring all simultaneously. He picked some of them up, few asked if they could come over and others that has yet to meet him wanted them to talk in person. Of course, Izaya saw through their little antics.

It was because of that, he cut all contacts with his clients, unplugged his computer and dismissed Namie. He decided to take a small vacation; a place to subside for a little while till the commotion calms down. And that was how Izaya ended up at the doorstep with a luggage and in his pocket a phone he rarely used.

_DING-DONG!_

He began to tap his own foot against the floor impatiently, its clicking rhythm signified of one's frustration and eagerness. Two minutes has passed, and there was still no answer. Unfortunately, even the great Orihara had his limits as the occasional doorbell rings eventually turned into an endless chime of bells. The chimes continuously rang from inside as Izaya kept pressing the button, annoyance seen on his face. Then it was no longer than that when he heard a loud _THONK!_, sounds of feet shuffling.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming–—" _BAM!_ "Ittai!"

Shinra. How despicable. After waiting for what seemed like a very long time, the barrier finally creaked open.

"Celty, my love! You finally..."

The informant blinked when Shinra nearly had his arms around him, an amused look seen on his face. Keyword, nearly. Shinra managed to stop himself before crossing the border right after he opened the door, his mouth hung agape with a flabbergasted expression. By then, the atmosphere became drenched in silence and awkwardness. Of course, the atmosphere was shattered when the underground doctor soon came out of his small trance.

"I-Izaya?!"

Just when Shinra thought it was his Celty has come back home.

"The one and only." Izaya said bemusedly.

"You! What time is it?" Shinra stumbled backwards, perhaps taking a look at the time when he tossed a glance elsewhere. "And th-this late?!"

"Um, you shouldn't be here..." Izaya quirked an eyebrow at this. He watched as his... friend started to fidget around with fingers, the words of dejection slowly reaching out to him. Why was Shinra even surprised in the first place? Does it have to do with the fact that it was rare for the informant to visit him? Nevertheless, he proceeded to push the matter. "Why not?"

"Uh, you see." Shinra slowly started. "It's..." There goes the fumbling and incoherent words being muttered. Izaya waved a hand around at this, a smile worn as he went forward by a single step, his luggage slightly rolling to the side. "Gee, Shinra. I came here a long way to ask you a favor, you know." He bluntly said, the statement seeming to have caught the doctor's eye.

"A favor?"

A nod was given as the informant smiled. It was a small favor really. In order to have a vacation, he needed a place, right? "Have you watched the news?"

"Oh, you mean the one where they said that you massacred the tourists?" The doctor leaned against the door, a thought given for a short second. "Yeah, well. I didn't know you were capable of such thing."

"Ouch, Shinra. Did you really think I did it?"

"Aha, I never said that..." Shinra laughed sheepishly. "How did it happen anyway?"

"I'm not going to tell you unless you let me in." Izaya crossed his arms, a smug smirk seen on his face.

"Then no." Shinra responded instantly, few steps taken back to slam the door at his face

Creak— **_slam!_**

... If that didn't well. So, he wants to play it the rough way, eh? Fine, even he can be more than persistent at times. If that was the case, then the challenge might as well be accepted. Izaya turned, a smirk gracefully depicted his features as he took a step forward. "Well then, I guess that if I wind up dead, Celty won't have anymore jobs."

"That's perfectly fine for me!" A muffled reply came from the other side.

"I guess that Celty will be very sad when I die by then." Izaya feigned hurt in his tone.

"Nu-uh, she said she's always happy when she's with me! More importantly, why would she be sad over you?!"

Izaya exasperatedly sighed. "And if I die, looks like she has to find another job..."

"Better than working for you!"

And the argument goes on.

But the argument went on for longer than a minute. Slightly irritated, Izaya started to think more throughly. At this rate, he would have no choice but to find a safe place somewhere else. And that would only mean more trouble since he'll have to set a foot out into the streets again. Now, how to get a doctor tamed... Izaya had his reasons to choose this place out of all places. But it wasn't a second later when an idea struck him. "... I guess I should tell Celty where's her head then before I die."

"And if Celty was to choose another job, I wonder what would happen if people find out what's under helmet..."

"More importantly, what if Celty ended up being stuck with a daily regular basis of serving lots and lots of people?"

"But wait, if she got her head back, wouldn't that mean her mission is complete?"

"I guess we'll have to see when I die. Sigh, too bad I won't be there to see it."

Silence; there goes the sound of victory. It was no longer than that when the door creaked open.

"You may come in."

Izaya smiled triumphantly upon hearing this. Checkmate! A big grin broke out from his lips shortly afterwards as he waltzed into the room, his hands swayed around in the brisk of satisfactory. His small dance of victory was cut short however when he began to take note of his surroundings. Everything was the same, all was but he felt there was something amiss. Something that wasn't even human nor human-made to begin with.

"Where's Celty?"

The informant turned to the latter, a sound of closing door reached to his ears. "She went to do something." He heard Shinra muttered followed by a miniature sigh. "It's not fair that my Celty gets dragged away whenever I need her..."

"Which is almost all of the time." Izaya joked to which Shinra ignored.

...

Outside in the cold weather bestowing upon Ikebukuro, Shizuo had seated himself on one of the benches in the West Ikebukuro Park. It was late, nearly midnight but Shizuo didn't care. He needed to let out his frustration by venting.

"So, I just thought they needed a bit of beating up. They started it anyway, so they shouldn't complain at all. Tch, rascals." Shizuo spewed the words out with brows ticked off. "But anyway, since I don't have anywhere to live for now, here I am. Looks like I'll sleep a night out here before searching a place to stay for a little while."

Next to him seated his companion who could not talk and used a PDA as a way to communicate. The two were good friends, which most would find quite uncanny. After all, this friend of his wasn't nor even close to being a human as he is. Celty had no head, and for that, her muteness was self-explanatory.

Once in a while, Shizuo would ask her something that sounded similar to 'what do you look for in a lover?'— and every time he questioned her, he wouldn't give her a chance to answer it afterwards. Well, mostly because Celty chose not to. She had her ways to become friends with the beast but because of her attentive ways of listening to his rants, Shizuo liked her for that.

A smoke was breathed in after he took another drag of his cigarette, blowing out the fumes into the air as the blond resorted to silence. The atmosphere became too quiet but he enjoyed it nevertheless.

It nearly made him forgot that his apartment got wrecked by troublesome idiots.

Better savor it before the flea comes around, his mouth twitched at the sudden thought. That Izaya. The bastard's probably behind this too, he growled inwardly. He has to be, otherwise how else had they found out where he lived? Asides from that, Izaya had always been a troublemaker ever since they met at Raijin High School several years ago.. He never stopped pissing Shizuo off, there was not even one single moment where the pest did not pester him. Not to mention he had hurt his own brother— his long time crush for a couple of times before.

Simply unforgivable.

Then his thoughts of the red-eyed brunet slowly trailed to a certain pink-eyed raven. Ah, how the thought of him had calmed him down. Unlike Izaya, Psyche was tolerable. And he was cute too. Definitely not as evil as that reminded him, it sure has been long since he talked to him, right? But granted it started after he was rejected back then; the day when he confronted the raven only to end up being declined. For what reasons— Shizuo did not know. And it would be a lie if he says that the rejection did not faze him as much anymore.

His train of thoughts however shortly was cut off when a movement from the corner caught his eye, his head shot up to see Celty standing before him.

"Celty?" He blinked. "Something wrong?"

_'You said you needed a place to live in for a while, right?_' She simply typed into the screen, showing it to Shizuo soon after.

"... Yeah." The reply sounded unsure.

_'Why not stay with us?'_

The next message honestly surprised him when he read it, his eyes widened in slight disbelief as he looked at the other bewildered. "... Don't you have to ask Shinra about this first?" Besides, he feared that his presence would only be a burden to them. He didn't want that.

_'I'm sure he won't mind.'_ The black rider tried to re-assure him.

"You don't have to trouble yourself, ya know. If you're worried about me getting hurt out here, don't worry about it." He protested, one leg crossed the other as he tossed his head back.

_'That doesn't stop me from worrying. Come?'_

Yet, Celty continued to be persistent. Something that caused Shizuo to think twice. Perhaps he could accept the invitation this time. Just this once. Then again, Celty already did a lot for him, didn't she?

"... All right. I owe you this one." He solemnly nodded, silently making a vow that one day, he'll repay Celty for her kindness.

...

While Shinra headed towards the kitchen, Izaya pranced his way to the couch, plumping against the soft cushion before asking the doctor loudly, "So, what did you think of the news when you first heard it, by the way?"

"I thought I already answered that."

"No, I asked if you only heard of it."

"In that case... Hm, I wonder where should I begin?" Tilting his head to the side, his eyes followed the doctor's trail back into the room, his ears perked in curiosity when the next words were said. "It's hard to explain. But let's leave it at this, I know you quite more well than the others."

...

...

... He knows him more well than others? The information broker laughed at this, was he for real? Did Shinra take him for a joke? If that isn't funny. "Are you sure about that?" He gave a snark remark.

How boastful. Who knew that the doctor would stoop this low?

"Well, maybe not as much as Psyche. But I basically spent more than five years of hell in school with you."

"Was that a compliment?" Ah, how much he'd like to point out that he was wrong about Psyche.

"To be honest, I didn't really believe the news. I found too many loopholes in the story. Besides, while you are someone capable of... killing people, I don't think you'll ever kill a person. By direct contact, of course."

"Are you saying that I killed a person before?" His eyes narrowed.

"Maybe." Izaya hated the innocent smile that was forming on Shinra's face.

"But you see, the thing is— you're not entirely a bad person. You're definitely not a good guy either. You're close with people but at the same time, you also put yourself in a distance from them. How do I say this? You're somewhere along the line if I have to butcher up the summary."

The raven blinked at this, his gaze still kept on the man standing proudly before him.

For some reason... What the doctor said really does described him at a point, now that he thought about it. A man whom is neither too close nor too far. "... I guess you're right." He hummed to himself.

"So, were you really there? I mean the crime scene place. Why were you there anyway?" Shinra strolled over to sit at the couch on the opposing side, facing the informant

"Long story short, I..." But Izaya never got to finish his sentence. His words soon trailed off when they heard the door opened, capturing both the ravens' attention as a result. For a minute, everything seemed to have froze when a familiar face had entered the room. A face he knew all too well was contorted in surprise.

"And this is why I didn't want you to come in earlier, Izaya..." Shinra smiled nervously, looking back at Izaya as he scratched at his cheek.

What a pleasant surprise, he'll have to say.

There stood at the opening of the doorway was the man whose hair was bleached blond, a bartender suit being worn like any other usual day. Heiwajima Shizuo. He was the person who always tried to toss random things at him whenever he sees the chance.

He also happened to be the very same man who was gaping at him by now, a vein on his forehead began to twitch when his eyes fell onto him. And for that moment, the peaceful and serene atmosphere turned into an awkward silent one.

The usual intense eye contact was shared in between them as they quietly observed each other from where they stood. Their wary eyes watched each and every single of their moves and expression on their face. And so seconds passed, and they spent their time staring at each other. Although it was more like a glare for one of them.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

Finally, the silence broken once Shizuo bellowed, a glare thrown at the informant.

"More like what are **_you_ **doing here?" The brunet glared back.

Celty emerged from Shizuo's back shortly afterwards, a tilt of her head given as soon as she saw Izaya. Swiftly, a PDA was taken out for the headless rider to type in, coming closer towards the latter to show the message.

_'Why are you here?_' Izaya read the text.

"Shinra, before I beat you to a pulp, you better explain why the fucking flea is here." Looking away from the screen, he watched with amusement as the blond loomed over the doctor from behind the couch, and of course, Shinra would cower as the usual.

"Now, now, Shizu-chan~" The nickname caused Shizuo to snap his attention back at him, "I just came here to see Shinra. Nothing wrong with that, right?" He smiled, albeit he lied a bit about the part on why he was visiting the apartment. There was more to why he's paying a visit, after all. "Besides." Izaya sighed, slowly getting up to his feet. "I was just about to tell the story about how I became wanted for a ten million yen reward before you rudely interrupted me, ne."

Celty softly tapped at his shoulders, making him look as the screen was introduced to him once more. _'Wanted... for a ten million yen?'_

"Did you watch the news?"

Celty shook her head. After all, she had been out. _'When did this happen?'_ She typed back in.

"Just recently."

_'At least you're not under the broad daylight now.'_ The helmet was taken off, her shadows suddenly spook off, probably trying to lighten him up by intending to have what she said as a joke.

"Ah, that's right. You faced the similar thing last time, right?" The informant smiled

_'Yes...'_ The PDA was pulled back again, the black rider pondering for few good seconds before carefully typing out her text._ 'How did this happen?'_

"It's a long story, but it sure did get me wind up in the news channel. And the next thing you know— who knew that they'll have a suspected person wanted for ten million?"

"Hah, the flea's wanted? For ten million?" Shizuo who oddly kept quiet the whole time finally said something that took away Izaya's attention once he gave a look. There was something written on the blond's face. Amusement, perhaps? He couldn't really tell what but for some reason, he... found the look admirable.

"What can I say? I am just that charming. I'm pretty sure that everyone's after my body now." He grinned to which Shizuo rolled his eyes. "You wish."

And fully knowing how well Izaya tended to be with his witty remarks, Celty quickly intervened before things could get out of hand, 'You haven't answered my question.'

A smile appeared on the brunet's face this time; and as soon as they saw this, they know it didn't mean anything good. Everyone knows that a smiling Izaya means bad news.

"Five hundred bucks." He promptly said, showing all five fingers.

"... You have got to be kidding me."

"It's not everyday I talk about myself." He grinned, but right after he said that, he felt an impact lightly hit against his chest before falling onto his lap, making him look. And there it was, five hundred bucks or as so the amount looked like.

_'Just get onto the story.'_ Celty texted, irritation visibly shown through her body movement.

"Patience..." A chuckle escaped the brunet's lips. "I was just joking about the five hundred bucks, by the way." The five hundred bucks was tossed back at the headless rider who had caught it with ease.

"I got framed."

"Framed?" It was Shinra's turn to ask. "... How exactly?"

"It all started with a call. Someone on the phone called me and when I picked it up, I found the voice strangely familiar. But sadly, I couldn't tell who it was. And then—"

"Can't you just find out who's the caller from the number itself? That's your job, right?"

"Shizu-chan, don't rudely interrupt people when they're speaking. And you're far from close, I'm someone who have to find out things. Then for a living, I sell it to someone who finds it useful."

"Pretty shitty job."

"At least, my shitty job can't get me fired and send me around the world to find jobs ."

A vein twitched at the blond's forehead when he heard. But as much as he'd like to throw a can at the prudent face, he can't deny what he said either. "You–"

'Continue your story please.' Celty cut in once more, practically blocking Shizuo out of his sight by shoving the screen into Izaya's face. This caused the raven to slip back a little, adjusting his vision to the screen's brightness before he could read.

"They asked if I was Orihara Izaya."

"Then?"

Having yet to answer, he turned to sit on the couch once more, aware of the cautious eyes that are watching him with wary. "Afterwards, they told me to meet them at the Sunshine 60 Observatory." He waved a single hand. "But the only problem was that he didn't exactly said which floor should I take. I tried to ask him but he already hung up. So, I ended up taking the top floor in the end. You could guess what happened next. It was a set-up and before I even knew it, the police had me surrounded."

Obviously, the explanation seemed rather hasty to the three other people. Especially to Shizuo. Most of the times, Izaya's language never was in his vocabulary. "Doesn't make sense." He blurted aloud, his eyes still in contact with the other's.

"Expected from you." Teased Izaya.

"What made you take the top floor in the first place?" Shinra crossed his arms.

"Good question."

"You could say that I winded up taking a wild guess."

"Some of my clients prefer to have a meeting with me there instead of coming over to my place. Since I thought it was a client at first, I guess it could also be my biased way of thinking that it made pick. But at least, I guessed right. Isn't that quite something?" He joked, suddenly spreading both arms into the air with no care.

"And that's how the great Orihara Izaya got framed! The end."

"Heh. Who would have known that the flea would get framed one day?" Shizuo sneered at him, clearly enjoying this. "A payback for what you did to me back then, eh?"

Yet Izaya merely continued to smile. Now that he thought about the incident back then where he framed the blond, he supposed it was karma for what he did back then. But it's not like it was a choice. "You seem to be enjoying this, Shizu-chan."

"I will enjoy every moment of you suffering, I-za-ya-kun." Shizuo grinned devilishly, though the vein twitching by his forehead showed how pissed off he still was. He's pissed at Izaya. Wait, no. He's pissed at everything right now.

"So, you believed my story?"

But what Izaya asked next honestly took the blond off guard; thus the anger had subsided for a short while. He expected anything, but this, from the flea. He shifted for a while, crossing his arms as he huffed. "Tch. Don't get any idea, flea. I didn't say I believe you since everything about you is utter bullshit. Even your words are full of shit."

"Really."He heard the other said. "By the way, how are you and Psyche now? Still taking after the annoying crybaby?" Annoying crybaby... _Psyche?_ He felt something snapped within him.

"Don't talk about him like that." Shizuo narrowed his eyes, the growl heard from the back of his throat.

"What? That he's a big baby?" Izaya dared to repeat, not even realizing what he said only until a little later then when Shizuo raised his voice all of the sudden.

"I said don't talk about him like that!" The caramel eyes flashed dangerously at Izaya with fists clenched tightly in anger.

For a split second, hurt was evident in Izaya's eyes, and there went the gnawing feeling at his heart— nevertheless, it never went noticed— not when his lips curled back up to life a short second later.

So, in the end, Shizuo still liked Psyche even up till now. If that isn't amusing.

And it was like this how they were reminded of their high school days. For one of them, it had been an unrequited love; for the other, it was a hate at first sight.

He thought this with slight disdain, as much as he'd hate to admit. "I can talk bad about him whenever I pleased to, protozoan."

And for the millionth time today, Shizuo felt his temper rising again. The sudden tension in the air was noticed, but none of them dared to say anything to break the ice. After all, they all know very well on who hates who.

"Izaya..." The blond slowly drawled, the cracking of his knuckles served as a warning sign. Before one step could be taken forward, he was met with the doctor acting as an obstacle.

"Oi, oi, can you two behave yourselves?!" Shinra scolded, catching both of their attention. "I don't need you two go thrashing around our apartment!" He continued, the hands placed on his hips showed how serious he was.

"... Sorry." was all the blond could mutter whilst Izaya kept silent, having nothing to say at all as he dealt with a familiar— not so pleasant feeling washing over him.

"Izaya, what exactly did you come here for? You said you wanted me to do you a favor, right?"

Ah, that's right. He remembered he had come to ask the doctor for a favor. "I need to stay over at your place for the meantime." Well, not really asking.

Silence then settled into the room afterwards.

"... Eh?"

_**"WHAT?!"**_

"... Is there a problem?" Izaya blinked, taken aback by their reaction. Especially Shizuo.

"Well—"

"OF COURSE, THERE IS! I'n going to stay here too, that's what it is, flea!" The blond barked back, stating it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Out of all places, why did it had to be here? He inwardly growled, not knowing that a certain raven too were having the same thoughts about him.

"E-EH?! W-wait, what?! No! You can't stay here! You both can't stay here!" Shinra declined instantly, forming a big X with his both arms.

Before one of them muttered even a single letter, Shinra told them once more. In a harsh way, of course; but not entirely in a harsh way. It was just that he was against the idea, not them both. "Izaya, since you're wanted, I don't want to risk having people barge into the apartment, interrupt my lovely time with Celty just to look for you! And— Shizuo! You're going to scare all my patients awa– oof!" But sadly, he got elbowed into the stomach before he could even finish his sentence.

After giving a low blow to the doctor's stomach, Celty worked with her fingers on the screen once more. _'Sorry, about that. You both can stay here.'_ Read the screen.

"Eh?! C-celty! But that's really really a bad idea!"

_'How could it be one?'_

"Well, you see... Since I have patients coming in here every now and then... Who knows what'll happen they see Izaya? And Shizuo?! He'll scare them away! But Izaya's presence is sure going to bring them back anyway."

Celty pondered at this for some time. Now that Izaya was on the news... It's possible that it went viral all around on the internet.

_'Good point.'_ The dullahan showed to Shinra.

If Izaya was seen, there could be a high possibility that they would go after him in no time. And having to know Shinra and Izaya knew each other, it's also likely they'll go after the doctor and force him to tell. That was something Celty found unacceptable.

On the other hand, Izaya rolled his eyes, seeing through Shinra's antics. It was quite obvious that the doctor didn't want them both here not because of anything, but just them.

"Relax, I can survive cooping up in my room for the whole day, you know. It's not like they'll barge into every room." He countered. "And it's just for a while. Not forever. I could be gone sooner than expected."

_'That's a good point too.'_

Celty shared a glance with Shinra from the opposite side. It stayed like that for few more moments.

"Well, I suppose only for a little while." The underground doctor sighed.

"Wait, how about Shizuo?! You said you're also going to stay here, right? Unless... Celty, were you the one who invited Shizuo..." The dullahan swiftly nodded before Shinra could finish his statement. "Oh, I see... Why?!"

'Shizuo needed a place to stay for a moment. His apartment is going under a renovation since it needs lots of repairs and stuffs.' She showed the doctor before quickly typing some more. 'It'll take a while, however and I don't think it's safe for him to sleep in the park even if he is strong.'

"So, the flea is going to live here too?"

Meanwhile, Shizuo merely stared with disbelief. Of course, he was completely unsatisfied . This— this had to be a nightmare. The flea was going to live here?! The thoughts chaotically hurdled throughout his mind. The idea of living with the flea... How long would he last, he wondered? But at least, they're not sharing the same room... Right?

"Aha, by the way... There's only one spare room left since the others are already used..." Oh no, he's not going to? "... So, I think you guys will have to—–" No, don't say it. "—well, share the room." Too late. Whoever is up there laughing at the pain of his agony, here's his big 'fuck you' to them.

"Why don't I just go and sleep outside? Just seeing him here is already making me mad. What more if we're going to share the room?" Shizuo twitched once more at this idea. It seems that the black rider noticed this and decided to take an immediate action.

_'It's not like the we have any other choice.'_ She showed the blond her text. _'I'm terribly sorry about this. I wished I could have seen this coming.'_ It might not be enough to convince Ikebukuro's renowned strongest man but after reading the message, he felt a bit guilty. Why was Celty even apologizing anyway? It's not her fault that they came without knowing the flea's presence. He scratched at the back of his head, thinking of what to say.

Before he could say anything however, Izaya has already beaten him to it. "I already took a risk going out, Shizu-chan." Pouted the informant "I don't want to face it again~" Not when there are still a couple of people out there searching for him.

"You can get arrested for all I fucking care." A vein popped on the blond's forehead.

_'Like what he said it should only be for a while..'_ Celty made her screen visible to both men before turning to Shizuo._ 'Well, depends if the commotion going on in the city now has already died down.'_

_'Maybe then he'll return back to his apartment. But if your apartment is done repaired before his time, you could be the first to go back. At the meantime you should stay with us.'_

Oh, Celty. You're such an angel.

"Anyway, we mustn't waste our time! You two, follow me to your room now."

...

"And here's your room!"

"I'll be heading to sleep now. Oh, and uh, try to tone down it down, okay?"

"What the fuck do you mean by toning down?" Shizuo frowned bitterly, not at all taking a hint on what Shinra was trying to say.

"Haha, nothing... Night." With that, the doctor took off, leaving the two alone at the entrance of the door. It was then when a heavy ice fell onto them, though not completely but the atmosphere they were having was slightly endearing.

It might have went unnoticed or they were simply oblivious, but they felt quite awkward. To share one room with a person you hate the most; and a room to be shared with one you love most. In the end, they mattered despite the big differences.

"Well, aren't you going to enter?" Izaya broke the silence, causing the latter to look at him although it only lasted for less than a second and his usual gruffy reply. "Shut up. I am."

"So, why is the lovely beast not in his usual shabby place?"

"Go die."

"That was a compliment, you know."

"Remind me why can't I just hand you over to the police and get ten million yen in reward?" Shizuo looked over, giving him a glare in the eye.

"Because I will get executed and you wouldn't want to get my brother sad, do you, Shizu-chan?" He grinned, fully knowing how well the topic would bother the latter.

"Fuck off."

"I'm hurt."

After their small bickering, the knob was finally turned and the door was pushed open. Shizuo was the first to enter since he was in the lead, followed by Izaya who rolling in with his luggage. With the light switched on, they finally looked around once they reached to a halt, taking in every single bit of details in their surroundings. The room was small, much to their dismay, but the room wasn't shady at all. It was rather nice. Out of all things however, it was the one bed that caught their attention the most. Well, more like only Shizuo's attention since Izaya plainly walked on to the near end of the room and placed down his luggage by the corner.

"What should I wear for tomorrow..." The informant wondered aloud as he then sat down and zipped open the bag before rummaging through it. Despite the fact that he became wanted for an awfully big amount of money, it still didn't stop him from being bored. And the only cure to his boredom is to walk around. But now that Shizuo here... Well, it's not like the blond was going to stay inside forever or agree to entertain him. He does have work to do as Izaya had recalled; and he had always hated the flea.

"Just wear the same clothes." He suddenly heard the blond answered, causing him to snicker. What a plain but typical answer. "Stupid protozoan, did you think that if I am going to wear the same clothes, they won't notice it's me at all?"

"Yeah." Shizuo bluntly replied. "Though wouldn't make a difference even if you changed your clothes. Your face is a pest too big to even be ignored."

"Yeah, sure. Then I'll change my face to make it more of a pest to look like Psyche's." He replied in a mocking tone.

"Would a punch change your face?" Shizuo glared once more.

The bickering subsided after a few moments.

"Shizu-chan."

"What?"

"You know, I think it's best if I get a disguise." Izaya started as he started to neatly pack the clothes he had picked up earlier back into the baggage.

"... A what?"

"You know. A cover up." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You mean like cosplay or some shit?"

"Yeah, whatever suits your boat, Shizu-chan." He rolled his eyes.

"So, what about it?"

"Take me out for shopping tomorrow." Izaya childishly exclaimed, a smug smirk being worn.

It took Shizuo for a while to get what he meant. But when he did, he blinked. Perhaps once, or twice but still, he felt quite surprised. Did the flea really just asked him to take him out shopping tomorrow? "No."

"Eh—– why?" The brunet pouted.

"First of all, because it's you. Second, I don't want to be seen with you and thirdly, it's because of you."

"You just repeated the same thing twice."

"Shut up, I know that."

"Besides, what good would that even do?" Shizuo decided he didn't like the idea. Heck, he didn't like everything about the flea.

"Think about it, what if people saw me with you, Shinra and Celty~? I'm sure you wouldn't want to be dragged into this tag game too~"

"That's why I don't want to be seen with you, fucking flea."

"But people wouldn't know it's me if I am in a disguise, right?"

"Disguise or not, you're bad news."

Izaya kept silent afterwards, busy skimming through the pockets of his baggage in search of his belonging. By the time he found it, he turned after closing his luggage only to find Shizuo looking at him. He didn't know why but somehow, he felt nervous about the way how the blond was looking at him. There was an unknown glint twinkling in his eyes but it was no sooner than that when he realized that the gaze was not directed at him, but at the material he was holding.

"What the hell is that?"

"Hm? This?" Izaya looked down at it for a short moment before sparing another glance at the blond. "It's a tape recorder."

"Tape recorder?.. For what exactly?" The blond questioned. Well, it was expected too, if he had to be honest. Tape recorders were the 90's things and they were quite popular back then when radios nor discs have yet to be invented. But eventually they have fallen out of style now as the world grows modern. Nevertheless, he took this as an advantage. Since people barely even use them anymore, he didn't need to worry about people listening to the tapes he had recorded. He doubted anyone would want to listen to old types of music or such.

"Obviously, I'm going to use it to record things. Why else is it called recorder?" He retorted.

"Curious about what I recorded, Shizu-chan?" He started to teasingly smile as the other simply began to grimace. "Tch, I don't even wanna know what's in there. Probably about your sick fantasies." Shizuo spat out with an evident of disgust in his tone. Yet Izaya didn't seem to be perturbed by this as he simply smiled.

Of course, that smile of his always appeared to have agitated the blond as he looked away immediately. Another awkward moment of silence settled between them.

And Izaya didn't like it at all. It wasn't until a moment later when he saw the brute pulling out his phone and started to click it away. Deciding it was better than to deal with the awkward silence, he stood and immediately snatched the phone out of the blond's grip but what he saw on the screen was certainly not expected.

It was an old picture from their high school days, or as so the image said. Shizuo was smiling brightly, a smile he had seen a couple of times before but never had it directed at him. Beside the blond was the person he knew all too well. His brother. They were smiling so widely that they seemed like the happiest couple in the world. That was something that can't be ignored.

"What's this? Aw, it's a picture of you and my lovely brother! How sweet."

"IZAYA! Give me back my phone!" Shizuo growled from the back of his throat, making an attempt to grab for the phone to which made Izaya twirled away in reeponse.

"Sorry, no can do."

Shizuo stood abruptly from the bed and started stalking towards Izaya. Izaya saw this as a danger sign but now that he's stuck in a room with a cramped space, he knew he didn't have any choice. Before he could do anything, he accidentally clicked a button on the phone. ".. Oops."

And just as he said that, Shizuo's face seemed to have deadpanned for a short time. "Flea— what the fuck did you just do?!"

"Give me back my phone, you bastard!"

"I may have accidentally deleted a folder or two..." Izaya flipped close the phone, the device was then thrown to the blond who had caught it with ease. After that, he didn't hear what the blond muttered but he knew it was nothing good.

As he watched Shizuo crawling back onto the mattress, it was then he realized there was only one bed in the room. And upon seeing the other laid down there, that'd mean he'll have to either sleep elsewhere. No way was he going to sleep on the floor. "Shizu-chan. I believe you're on my spot." The brunet exclaimed out of nowhere, drawing closer to the bed.

"Go sleep on the floor."

"How cruel. I want to sleep on the bed."

"No."

"But the floor's cold and hard! And it's not even yours!"

"First come, first serve."

"I came here before you."

"I got the bed before you."

"I don't want to sleep on the floor. It's unfitting for me."

"Well then, your royal highness— get out and sleep in the living room instead then." Shizuo mockingly replied before turning his back to the other.

No longer than that however, he felt a sudden weight shifting the bed and a warmth huddling close to his body. Shizuo immediately faced the other direction and went flabbergasted as soon as he saw what ( or rather, who ) it was.

"—?! What the fuck— the hell are you doing, flea?! Get off!" Yet the raven did not abide by his order as he simply snuggled against the bed. "But the bed is so comfy and warm." Izaya childishly argued.

And Shizuo can't help but have his face reddened at the sight of it. "I SAID GET OFF!" He kicked the other hard enough to push him out of the bed.

"Oof!"

...

...

...

"Ow. You're such a meanie." Izaya slowly got up, now glaring at the other as hard as he could. Looks like he is going to sleep on the floor after all.

"Complain all you want, but you're gonna sleep on the floor and that's the final. Got it?"

"It's not your bed, you know."

This time, it was Shizuo's turn to keep silent. There were sounds of sheets rustling and when Izaya looked up, he noticed that Shizuo was settling himself comfortably on the bed.

"Heading to sleep already?"

"Shut up. It's late and I'm already having enough headaches from you tonight."

Well, it is about two o'clock in the morning. Oh well. While the blond decided to sleep, the informant might as well stay up for a little while to record some things. He stared at the small recorder in his hands for a little while.

...

Time passed and the brunet has yet to record anything. He kept tumbling around, the soft mattress that was usually beneath him is now replaced by a cold, hard surface to which he was not used to. Frustrated, he sat up from his stance, a hand groggily rubbing at his eyes. What time was it now?

His gaze trailed to the blond whom was snoring lightly on the other side of the bed. It was obvious that the blond was sleeping. Yet Izaya could not help but kept his eyes fixed on the sleeping figure, his small snores vexing and reassuring him at the same time. It made him think of the old times; after all, it's been a long time since he slept in a same room with another person. Perhaps– he thought to himself– things aren't so bad now. Except for the fact that both his reputation got tainted and there might be gangs coming for him.

His eyes narrowed at the sudden thought of his younger brother.

Psyche...

Ah, that's right. His family.

How are they now, he wondered?

Probably very disappointed in him and has to deal with more bullshit now that the news had spread through the city like a wildfire. Furthermore to increase the fuel, he was not there to explain.

Like they'll ever listen to me, Izaya bitterly smiled at this.

Just as his thoughts were about to shift to a certain brute pictured together with another raven, his small trance was disturbed when he heard a loud shuffling, and before he even knew about it, he was staring right at the blond's sleeping face.

For once, Izaya was able to see the peaceful look of Shizuo's face in his sleep. For once, Izaya did not see the beast raging with eyes filled of hatred towards him.

It was strange.

Everything felt strange too.

They never have been these close before. Never. Now that he was reminded...

Why hasn't Shizuo rat him out yet?

He was quite surprised that in the end, Shizuo agreed to the whole of this thing. At least, their relationship has quite improved over the years at one point. He might as well be regarded as the luckiest man on earth for breathing in the same room with his so-called nemesis. Even up to now.

Maybe Shizuo did restrain himself from punching him now due to the dire situation but even if he didn't, he still found it impressive. For all he knew, Shizuo could have tricked him and handed him to the police earlier; perhaps even beaten him up on their way back home and leave him on the streets. But he didn't do any of that. Even after several years of proclaiming his hatred and his vow to kill him— in the end, he saw his chance but did not take it.

Why?

Was it because of the situation he had in his hands right now?

Or— could it be because of Psyche somehow?

How unpredictable, Izaya sighed. Who knows what goes through the brute's mind?

"... Hm. I guess I won't record anything tonight." He thought aloud, his gaze torn away to stare down at the recorder in his hands. With the object placed by his side, he stood to turn off the lights before settling himself back onto the floor, his back turned to the sleeping blond's face. There were still so many questions running through his mind but alas, he managed to lull himself to fall into a deep slumber as his chest began to rise and fall in a rhythmic pace.

And as the both the blond and the raven slept peacefully that night, little did they know about what the future holds in store for them.

* * *

Shizuo finally appears! And thank you for the follows and reviews!

And as a reply to one of the reviews: yes, the beginning was based on frozen but not entirely. You will see what I mean by a couple of chapters later. And to another certain review, I'm afraid I can't tell you that since I can't risk spoiling the story. Besides, where's the fun in that if I spoil it? You are free to imagine what happens next however. Although I think it's really obvious who's the culprit behind what happened at the Observatory tower incident.

I'm also sorry if there's anything lack of explanation, I was in a rush. Plus this is the first time I've ever written a chapter this long.


	11. Eight Track II

.  
**Chapter ten - Eight track II**

* * *

Shizuo never did take Izaya out for shopping the next day.

A couple of days had come by since the arrival of Shizuo and Izaya at Shinra's apartment. Throughout the whole time during their accommodation, their bickerings never once resided and retained as the per usual; heavy objects lifted to be hurled at the raven only to be preturbed from doing further damage by an odd being. It made the atmosphere more lively albeit not as tranquil as one thought it would be.

As for the commotion going on in the city, it had began to die down a tad bit— only a bit. The Dollars forum continued to be filed in with plentiful of messages regarding a certain informant, mostly having to do with theories on the possible locations where he might be. Safety precautions must be taken, Izaya hadn't brought himself to enter the chat, where few people recognized the true identity behind the alias of 'Kanra', for quite some time. Whilst he may have joined them on more than one occasion, he said naught a word throughout the conversation. The only evidence left of his presence had been there was a dialogue, which would state whether the members came online or offline, imprinted in the past history of the chat group.

How high the chances that he remained to be pursued after were considerable, and Izaya came to be completely aware of this. He knows that it would be turbulent of him to roam the paves freely, he too can't keep himself cooped up in this apartment for as long. Not when he senses an obstacle about to come at his way one day. It might be his imagination, but it felt as if the obstacle had been there all along without him being keen to it; lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to pounce on its victim.

One morning, its outcome of the previous night did not bode quite well for our raven. Despite how late had he slept in, Izaya often managed to be the first person to wake up. A weak sigh escaped from his lips, and he proceeded to to push himself off the ground since he could not sleep neither obtain a single second of proper rest. Every attempt he had taken proved to be futile. It was a repeated cycle nowadays as he'd wake up with sore muscles, shoulders aching with pain, and a massive headache that sent him shifting with discomfort. The fault clearly lies upon the rough surface he slept on earlier.

Perhaps he should have slept in the living room when given the chance. Having a couch to sleep in sounded more defiant compared having a rest on a cold ground. Nonetheless, he mused, it never is too late to change his mind. That in no way meant he wasn't mad at all.

"Stupid protozoan." Izaya muttered under his breath as a soft kick was delivered to the leg of the bed where Shizuo slept in peace. Ah, if only that was his face instead. Not that– nor did it matter whether he liked him or not— but at the moment, Izaya felt restless.

A glare is thrown at the blond for one last time as Izaya regained his composure. Should he be put into the hospital one of these days, he'll have a word with a lawyer and push the blame onto him. Once he extracted some of his belongings, Izaya made a hasty exit, heading to where the bathroom was for a long period of cleansing oneself.

Replenished with his hygiene, Izaya completed one of his first habitual routines for the day. Tiptoeing his way back into the chamber, a towel was taken up to wrap and pat his wet disarrayed locks dry as he draped another towel over his shoulder. Not certain of what he was expecting by the time he returned to the room but never had he imagined the day he caught the sight of a particular blond hogged up within the sheets.

Izaya learned that the blond had the tendency to oversleep. It was nearly every day when Shizuo bounced out of his bed, an utter of incoherent words released underneath his breath as he rushed to ready himself before heading straight out of the apartment.

Rather endearing, he had to admit, and it bemused him once he came to acquire this new knowledge. What time was it now anyway? The brunet discarded his laundry into a plastic bag, placing it beside his baggage before he turned to observe the blond's face whom remained in his slumber.

How serene the face looked.

Had the blond retain his quick temper, he was bound to be popular in his circle of friends and several women to chase after him. Perhaps it was cruel of him to say this— he felt thankful that Shizuo couldn't retain his temper. The thought of him having had set his eyes on one of his siblings was enough to make Izaya turn bitter. What more if the latter's feelings are returned?

These negative thoughts; every single bit of them were shaken off when Izaya gained his own strength. He did not want to admit he was jealous. He would not admit that he envied his brother in more than various ways and he certainly would not admit that he was– and still is– in love with Heiwajima Shizuo. Proud, he was, but the truth lingers for the fact that Izaya has yet to be convinced.

Albeit, as much as Izaya was not convinced yet, he knew these emotions brewed within him were not what he first believed to be 'hatred' nor 'digust'. It started from the first day when they met, the time he first experienced the tingling sensations sent down his spines as he witnessed those amber hues tinted with gold. However, he knew the other must have felt the same way— when he first met his brother. Ah, that's right.

How could have he forgotten? The first time he met Heiwajima Shizuo, too, meant that it was the first time when Shizuo and Psyche met.

He had to admit, their relationship was rather a complicated one; an unrequited one. And perhaps it goes the same way for the blond due to an incident back then. Perplexed, he was not, but astonished, yes, he was. Such a bold move it was when Shizuo came to a confrontation with Psyche and told him of a confession. One of the things that Izaya couldn't pride on doing it himself while Shizuo had done it out of his own accord with a muster of courage.

What followed after the scene was a result he had not anticipated— albeit he would not deny it was something likewise to a dream. Psyche rejected Shizuo. For what reasons? He did not know. The only thing he knew was it became an occurrence that he could never forget, a memory so distiguishable that he would often reminisce it every now and then.

By judging on how Shizuo contorted his face into an expression that told of pain and dejection, it made all the more impossible for one to forget. Never had he seen Shizuo utterly remorseful in his entire life, and it almost reached to the point where Izaya felt pity for him. There were times when he'd make a wish that he could turn back in time. Back to the time where he could have taken it as his chance to comfort the blond and then... maybe then, he could have a chance to make the blond notice him.

Since then, he had begun to have thoughts if he took a whole another route, perhaps it'll make him notice by then– and the route he so happened to pick was his path to become a god. All that to make the blond see him.

And they say that to become a god, you need to turn your imperfections into perfections. He wondered, what is it that made him no better than his brother? What does he need to do to make 'him' look at him? But it was no longer than that when reality harshly slapped him in the face. nearly forgot— however, slowly did the reason as to why everyone chose to overlook him return to his mind. He was the embodiment and the epitome of a student yet none would bother to bat an eye at him with a glint of awe in their eyes, including his family whom shared the same bloodline as his down their veins.

Negativity began to pile up at the back of his mind, and Izaya instantly tore his gaze away from the other man's figure; both the little insecurities alongside doubts lingering inside his thoughts went disregarded. Ludicrous it was, he cursed, how a simple glance at the countenance of his nemesis could turn to a sour one.

"What am I thinking? To hope that you'd see me the same way you see Psyche." He subsconsciously whispered to himself. "Such a fool I was." Such a fool, indeed.

Sheets rustled, and it caught the brunet off guard. He panicked, his heart began to beat in an erratic pace as he instantly closed his lids without a thought, a retreat taken only when the figure turned over. He waited for few seconds, expecting for a voice to speak up and reek of displeasure.

But it never came.

Izaya peeked open his eyes, a snore greeted his ears as he fully unsheathed his vision which was met with the sight of the brute sleeping, the small thin thread of drool dribbling from the corner of his lips not going amiss.

He snickered to himself once he saw this, an idea silently forming at the back of his head. Inching his way forward, Izaya started to poke at the other by the side– much like how one poked a sleeping beast. A pout coming into view when he secluded that such pokes would not wake him up. Lest, he made an attempt for a different approach. What else could be the best way than to pinch the man's nose to get him to wake?

Izaya waited for a reaction. Finally, the blond seemed to comply this time by stimulating, his lips etching a deep downward curve before he swats the hand away. "Ugh, fucking leave me alone." He groaned, not an ounce of him sounding quite pleased.

"Shizu-chan, it's morning. Rise and shine."

Only silence was served as his answer.

"Shizu-cha—"

_Bam!_ A pillow delivered a full blow at his face that had him landed on his rear while a gruffy voice coming from underneath the sheets told him to be quiet.

"So much for temperamental issues." Izaya rolled his eyes. "Besides, don't you have work today?"

Silence seeps into the atmosphere.

"Ugh— shit."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Horizons of the sky were now at the tingling shade of blue and white. Clouds danced in the midst, the sun out glistened in its usual spot, and the city routes were busied with blaring horns and vehicles that waited for traffic to move so they could get to their destination. Shizuo had long left for work, along with Celty whom received another task. Shinra, on the other hand, was tending to his one of his patients in a place elsewhere.

On the balcony is where Izaya stands, tasting the wind, the times being reminisced when he wasn't as constricted as now and move without a care for the world; and the world, itself, was cruel. It seems his current situation was a punishment bestowed by the world upon him due to his carefree spirit which once again crumbled to pieces. From here, at least he was able to regain a piece from that sense of satisfaction he once had.

A loud ringing noise fill the air, abruptly riding him of his thoughts as he takes a glance down at the device held in his hands.

**000-000-0000.**

Izaya frowned. This person, again. Calling him at this time? More importantly— how in the world did this person got this number? Curiosity got a hold of him, however, his instincts first told him to not answer the call in which he succeeded.

However, the incoming calls did not seem to have any intention in stopping their rinhs at any time soon. He dug his fingers deeply into his palm, resisting the urge to answer the call and shout into the phone. It was not long till the ringing had come to a halt. Finally, he sighed inwardly, a moment of peace he wanted to achieve.

Unfortunately, all is broken when the device began to go off once more_._

_"Good day to you, sir! How was your stay at the doctor's place so far?"_ He cringed upon hearing high-pitched voice from the other line by the time it was picked up. It did not strike him in the slightest way on how this stranger managed to gain a piece of information on his present residence— the sour mood clouded his senses.

"How did you get this number?" Izaya curtly returned it the inquiry with his one, aggravation clear in his tone. An implication told of displeasure and the weather he forcibly was put under.

_"Aw, no morning greeting for me?"_

"No one with the likes of you deserve to be greeted." If that isn't the tea calling the pot black? A chuckle then resounded from the line, one that sent shivers down his spine.

_"Mm, that's cruel."_

"What do you want?"

_"That is for you to know."_

Eyes narrowed, his stomach churning at the pit with the idea of tearing this man apart. He bears no patience at this moment, but his dignity caught him on the leash from lashing out. Patience, a deep breath was inhaled, such aspects are not worth to be argued over. "Why is that?" He questioned once more, cautious to not let his frustration nor his hesitation slip by.

_"Unless you'd like your family to be in danger, perhaps you should come and see me."_

Now he dares to tell seeing him after threatening to string his family along to the zone of danger? Such a mockery. If he could, he'd laugh but alas, no grievous situations would allow its victim to ridicule their own cases under any circumstances. "How do I know if this isn't simply another jest?" A jest. It had to be one. This is coming from the same man who framed him for a crime he did not commit. That sounded quite familiar, no? Speaking of which, this surely must be the time he tasted his own medicine.

_"It isn't. Come by Russian Sushi. We'll set a brief meeting by there._"

Silence crept in between them; a mutual agreement they both have come to agree.  
...

Izaya reckoned to sit in the cafe that was located in the streets across Russian Sushi instead of the place they had set the whereabouts for their encounter. Being brash is not one of his forte, and it seemed wise to first observe this man from far before taking an initiative to fulfill his revenge.

Now, where was that pesky bastard?

A sip was taken from the tea he recently ordered. Peace, although momentarily, he was once again able to walk outside. In a new set of clothes and a pair of dark shades covering his vermillion hues, he felt certain that not a single soul would be able to take a hint of whom he was, the lucrative figure everyone decided to pin on for a reward. This whole ordeal seemed quite frivolous– all of this for a vast sum of money? He found it quite amusing that these people too had put him up wanted without a single evidence of him being the culprit.

Humans, they were all so very greedy. So foolish, so _naive_.

And he was no different.

Within a flicker of an eye, Izaya managed to catch a glimpseful of the figure he tried to track down since the incident. There he was, the man he saw in the tower back then, in the bundles of clothing he put on as he did back then during their first coincidental meeting. No move is made yet, merely an observant gaze noting down on the man whom did not enter the location of their conference point but maintained his position outside by the door.

He takes the last sip of his Darjeeling tea, placing the cup back onto the table. Perhaps it was now the time to call out to him and seek out the true motives of the culprit.

After he had done his payment, Izaya sauntered out of the entrance with a survey that never wandered from the figure. Tedious as it may be, the informant takes precaution in the flock of his steps as he moves towards the unknown man.

"I suppose that you were true to your words."

He stops at a considerate distance from he and the man. Underneath those layers of wools and leather, he watched him perking up, a recognition given of his presence. "Now, what is it that you brought us here for?"

"... This amuses me."

Brows brewed into a stretch and he blinked at those words. Amusing? How exactly was this amusing? Mouth hung agape with the tongue that was about to speak of his protest, he was long already beaten to it by the next words.

"Boy," Calamity struck him, the man now leaning close against his ears, his hot breath felt against his skin with a chill sent down his spines– one that threw him into a state of paralysis. He couldn't move, this man— how and when? "Did your mother ever told you to never put your trust in strangers so easily?"

It then felt like the whole world was crumbling around him as a push was served to send him to the ground. It tothe shades snatched away to unveil the features depicting of his face.

"It's him! It's Izaya!" Shouted the man before turning on his heels into an alley nearby.

Izaya began to realise his second mistake that one moment. What ever happened to the precautions he thought out? He never should have come here. Regret surely is a burden to be carried with.

"You are not escaping this time." With a goal settled into his mind, Izaya cut down to make a chase for the silhouette.

_"Hey, isn't that..."_

_"It's him!"_

_"Get him!"_

His shades were gone, and he was now forced to have his face beknownst to every single creature that came into his sight. He broke out into a sprint, a string of curses mumbled underneath his breath. The shades must have been taken away that blasted man pushed, and none but himself was to be put under the blame. It was his fault that he failed to stay alert.

To say that he is currently experiencing the stage of grief is not a mere misunderstanding. Undoubtedly, he was beyond vexation. For him to be chased down while he hunts down the person whom had become the cause his misery sounded more of a repetitive cycle.

From one turn to another, Izaya endlessly fled from the mob that went on a pursuit after him. The intensity of the situation, nonetheless, was not enough to lead him astray from that one thing ahead of him. In reality, it had only been few minutes but to him, it felt like decades have passed since the incidental purpose, and days in trying to entrap a mouse while he plays the role of a cat.

_YANK!_

A tug at his sleeve sent him drawn to the darker shade of the alley, a yelp escaping him as his back came into contact with a broad chest. Before he'd retrieve the chance to protest, a hand shot out and covered his piehole, effectively muffling the noises. The switchblade was long from his reach as this person had an arm hoisted around his waist, blocking the hem of the pocket where he placed his weapon.

He stayed silent upon hearing the loud steps that were approaching his way, unconsciously worming against the body of his captor. Could this be it? Could this be the end of him?

"Where is he? Damn, that guy is too fast."  
"Come on, let's split up. He must have taken one of these routes!"

This was it, they were going to find him. However, strangely enough, whoever had him in his grasp said not a word but let the mob reach out of the their sight until the banters come to a fade by each ticking second. Was this person planning to give him to the police and receive the reward all to himself? Or was he helping him? It was something he had to contemplate about.

Although it was not long he is forced to be bestowed with the appearance of his captor.

"Fucking flea, what the hell are you doing?"

That voice. That nickname. The facial structure and gold locks. His breath hitched, it was _**Shizuo**_.

"How—" He breathed out, blinking his eyes away for a reassurance that this was all but a dream. "How did you find me?"

"I was here the whole time. You ran into me. I heard voices, I saw you. I don't want to deal with any shit at the moment, and it's obvious that you got yourself into some shit. The hell are you doing out here for anyway? You got a death wish or something?" The older male gave a hiss, the volume of his voice only a tad bit louder. Shizuo made a grip for his wrist, hauling him out of the corner and headed for one of the directions where the others recently entered.

"Wait, Shizuo. I think it's safer if we use that way where they come from–"

"Shut it."

* * *

"Tch. These fucking bastards won't give it a rest, will they?"

"Well, did you forget that I am wanted for a billion dollars? It's only natural that they would come after me. All this for money."

"Don't make yourself sound more slutty than you already have, fleabag."

"I told you we should have gone for the west route. But since you didn't listen to me, and dragged me out of your own will, they saw us."

"Or maybe if you stayed home, this wouldn't have happened, flea. Everywhere you go, disaster always follows."

"Well, I'm terribly sorry." Izaya scrunched his nose, "It's not my fault that I just so happened to be attracting disasters everywhere."

The pair by now hid themselves behind the dumpsters after being exposed to several more crowds. Needless to say, they caught them together. It had taken them every bit of their strength to remain standing, leaping, tumbling and sprinting away from them despite the large amount of energy consumed, leading to fatigue and exerted exhaustion of their bodies. And this only applied to Izaya since Shizuo did not shed even a sweat.

A refreshment sounded pleasing, but that has to wait. Izaya wanted to ponder on the thoughts and events that happened, and it happened too fast for his taste. There was one question that kept lingering in his mind and that was, why did Shizuo help him? Why was he helping him?

It was a complicated question that isn't provided by any answer yet but Shizuo, himself, was a contradiction. Unpredictable and full of complex is what that made this man. That could be one of the reasons why he liked him. Shizuo was a mystery, waiting to be unraveled like a puzzle with thousand pieces scattered, waiting to be completed.

His thoughts were cut close once he realised hoe close the latter to his liking, "Hey, what are you—"

"Stay still."

The voice was gentle, and surprisingly, Izaya found himself wanting to hear it again. He towered over by the blond, and he could now perfectly see how great the difference was in their height but that was not his main concern. What he was more concerned about would be what Shizuo is trying to do.

"Hey–"

"I said shut up and stay still." Shizuo quickly cut him off, the gentle tone he used being replaced by the usual one.

With the shades took from his face, he placed them over the raven's. It hung loosely at his first attempt but with a bit of adjustments, it managed to suit the raven's frame.

Despite the proximity close between them, the familiar, menancing aura no longer seeped out from the other. This was a whole new experience, and Izaya felt less than comfortable.

"There. All done." Shizuo said aloud, satisfaction displayed the casing of his face as he takes a step back.

A faint shade of blossom painted the raven's cheeks as he made no hesitation in scurrying backwards. "Sunglasses, hm?" He repressed the blush further with a smirk.

Shizuo shrugged. "At least it hides your ugly face some more."

"The protozoan does have a brain, after all. Who knew?"

"Shut up or I'll break the glasses."

Izaya huffed, peeling off the shades to shove it at the blond's chest. "Not even my glasses to start with. I don't need it anyway."

_"Erika, isn't that..."_

They turned, astonishment slowly writing itself on their countenance when they see the two familiar faces that practically screamed of danger.

"Shizu-shizu and Iza-Iza?! Together in one place?!"

Almost immediately, Izaya snatched the pair of shades out of Shizuo's hands and put it on once more. The blush came back, fully, this time.

"Hey, what are you two doing out alone here in this shady area?" Erika started to grin widely. "Is there something going on between you?"

"Of course not." He mumbled. But, _he wished._

"Really? You mean you guys are not on a date at all?" Erika questioned dejectedly, her expression lying in somewhere between the sombre hue and of hope. "Ah, that reminds me." She turned to Yamasaki, "Didn't Izaya turn up on the news on that day?"

"Now that you mentioned about it, he did."

"It was just a pure coincidence, really! We were switching through the channels, then we suddenly saw you on the television!"

"You're also all over the internet too!"

"Great, since you two are aware, I believe we need your help." Izaya said, a plan formulating in his head.

Yamasaki tilted his head to the side, exchanging a glance with Erika. He couldn't blame them. It isn't everyday you have the said most reliable informant requesting another person for an assistance. "Our help?"

"Yes, you see. We need to get out of here as fast as we can but the brute's agonizingly slow so we have to figure another way out."

"Izaya..."

"Hm. Another way out?"

"I've already thought of one. I'm thinking of— a disguise."

"A disguise, you say?"

"Then we know exactly what you're looking for!"

( Only Human. )

"And what is this?"

"This place is a shop for Otaku!"

"A shop for freaks?" Shizuo took a glimpse of the building from the shrubs, a frown delicating his lips. "No. I am absolutely not going in there."

"Eh? Why not?"

"Why are we here anyway? I thought you were going to help us?"

"We are! They have plenty of clothes and wigs in there too! Even masks! Besides, what's a better disguise than a cosplay?"

"They have a point, Shizu-chan."

"Yes! Come on!"

And they trailed after them into the shop as quickly as they could before any one recognises one particular member. Had they recognize him, it'd spell a lot of trouble for them. And soon, it would be a pack of four the city was going to go after.

"Do I really have to use a fucking disguise?"

"It isn't as if you have any other choice, Shizuo-san. You said it yourself, they saw you with Izaya. I doubt that they're going to leave you alone after seeing you with him." Yamasaki tried to coax him in, a white costume stranded off a rail to be compared with the blond's build. It seemed too small for him.

_Beep beep beep!_

All at the same time, their phones vibrated with a notification sound which conspicuously grasped every thread of their attention. Izaya was the first to check, scanning through the text.

'I saw Orihara Izaya with Heiwajima Shizuo earlier! They just headed south down the Green street!'  
Under the message, there was a photo attached, and the image showed the time when Shizuo was dragging Izaya along with him. Several comments on the post began to file in after that, and most of them mostly said the same thing– 'Are you kidding me?', 'No way!' Or even 'Are you sure this is not an edit?'

"They can't even let this down, hm?" The brunet cocked an eyebrow in amusement. Amusement wasn't even enough to describe of his reaction for the stupidity mankind bore. Nevertheless, what was more suspicious– he knitted his eyebrows. How was a member able to send all the other members a text? Was it not only the leader who were capable of doing so?

"So?" Yamasaki eyed at Shizuo for a confirmation, Izaya and Erika looking up at him either.

"Ugh. Fine." Shizuo stuffed his phone into his pocket, putting on an annoyed look, "Let's just get this over with."

_Several minutes later..._

"I am **not** going to wear that."

"Eh, denied?"

"Okay! What about this?"

A palm was pressed against his head. Do these two even understand how critical the situation was? Why would he pick an outragous costume when there were better loads for a disguise?

"Forget it, I'll find one myself." With a wave of dismissal, he left on his own.

For a shop full of anime merchandise, he had to admit, the section where clothes could be found was quite big. However most of the clothes sold on stock were completely out of his taste; by the means of that, they are but clothes that could succeed in making an individual stand out of the crowd. Worst of all, he had to wear one of them. Through several racks, Izaya rummaged through them in a search of something that would at least caught his interest but so far, there was belittling to none.

At one point, he was starting to think that it'd be best to pick a costume out of a whim regardless if it ended up bringing him an embarrassment. Izaya sighed exasperatedly, dangerously waning to the line where he decides to give up.

But that only lasted a moment when a color mixed of gold, black and white caught his glimpse. And it just so happened to be a costume that was hanging on another rack that he hadn't check. With curiosity set in mind, he stalked forward, reaching out to have his digits laced with the fabric as he pulled the clothes out.

A presumably short-sleeved shirt with black lines ran down the shirt. A golden cape accompanied which gave off an ambiance of reconnaissance, along with its puffy pants styled in a pattern of white and black strips. The costume seemed ridiculous and childish, but it was to his liking by far.

This should do, Izaya nodded to himself. He had chosen his disguise.

* * *

Why are you still even reading this like what– reading back, I found my first few chapters to this story more than dumb._ ( Actually, the whole story, itself. ) A_h, regardless, my apologies for leaving this story dangling for quite some time. I have major examinations at this point, so I hope every one of you would understand my lack of activity. Thank you for the staying with me!


End file.
